Program/Project Management Resource List #68

Revised May 2009

"The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of the public moneys." - Thomas Jefferson

Government agencies are among the major drivers in the American economy. It behooves them to demonstrate that their programs will benefit the citizens. However, some programs will have it easier than others: A program to fix storm-damaged lighthouses will have an easier time demonstrating its usefulness than a program for installing sculptures in city parks. Often, the intangible benefit to society from programs such as the latter is termed social return on investment. This webpage is a list of resources that will help the reader to measure the return of investment in government programs.

For more information on how NASA's inventions and discoveries flow into America's economy as profitable products, please see Benefits of Space Exploration and Diffusion of Innovations. For some information on how the return on investment in NASA programs has improved NASA's image, please see Public Opinion of the American Space Program. You may also find useful material in our webpages on The Government Performance and Results Act and Measuring Organizational Effectiveness in Research and Development Organizations.

All items are available at the Headquarters Library, except as noted. NASA Headquarters employees and contractors: call x0172 or email Library@hq.nasa.gov for information on borrowing or in-library use of any of these items. Members of the public, contact your local library for the availability of these items. NASA Headquarters employees can request additional materials or research on this topic. The Library welcomes your comments or suggestions about this webpage.

Books

Coryn, Chris L.S., and Michael Scriven (eds.). Reforming the Evaluation of Research. Vancouver, B.C.: Jossey-Bass and American Evaluation Association, 2008.

Q180.55 .E9 R44 2008 BOOKSTACKS

 

Phillips, Patricia Pulliam. The Bottomline on ROI: Basics, Benefits, and Barriers to Measuring Training and Performance Improvement. Silver Spring, MD: International Society for Performance Improvement, 2002.

HF5549.5 .T7 P43 2002 PPM-STACKS

 

__________. Measuring ROI in the Public Sector: Ten Case Studies From the Real World of Training. Alexandria, VA: ASTD, 2002.

JK718 .M43 2002 PPM-STACKS

E-books

All e-books listed here are available to NASA civil servants and contractors through the Books 24x7 service of SATERN.

 

Berman, Jeff. Maximizing Project Value: Defining, Managing, and Measuring for Optimal Return. AMACOM, 2007

 

Kodukula, Prasad, and Chandra Papudesu. Project Valuation Using Real Options: A Practitioner’s Guide. J. Ross Publishing, 2006.

 

Phillips, Jack J. and Patricia Pulliam Phillips. Return on Investment (ROI) Basics. ASTD, 2005

 

__________. Show Me the Money: How to Determine ROI in People, Projects, and Programs. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2007.

Articles and Reports

Bessette, Russell W. "Measuring the Economic Impact of University-Based Research", The Journal of Technology Transfer, vol. XXVIII, no. 3 (Aug. 2003), p. 355-361.

 

Combs, Kathryn L. "The Welfare Effects of Research and Production Joint Ventures", The Journal of Technology Transfer, vol. XXX, no. 1-2 (Dec. 2004), p. 227-239.

 

Drake, Miles P., Nabil Sakab, and Ronald Jonash. "Maximizing Return on Innovation Investment", Research-Technology Management, vol. XLIX, no. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 2006), pp. 32-41.

 

Heher, A.D. "Return on Investment in Innovation: Implications for Institutions and National Agencies", The Journal of Technology Transfer, vol. XXXI, no. 4 (July 2006), p. 403-414.

 

Heng, Kwok Y. A Methodological Approach for Conducting a Business Case Analysis (BCA) of Zephyr Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD). Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, 2008.

(ADA494056: (Dec. 2008) DTIC)

 

Hertzfeld, Henry R. "Measuring the Economic Returns from Successful NASA Life Sciences Technology Transfers", The Journal of Technology Transfer, vol. XXVII, no. 4 (Dec. 2002), p. 311-320.

 

Lane, Julia. "Assessing the Impact of Science Funding", Science, vol. CCCXXIV, no. 5932 (June 5, 2009), pp. 1273-1275.

 

Lee, R., et al. Estimating the Benefits of Government-Sponsored Energy R and D: Synthesis of Conference Discussions. R03-118572. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 2003.

(885698: (Nov. 2003) DOE Information Bridge)

 

Lingane, Alison, and Sara Olsen. "Guidelines for Social Return on Investment", California Management Review, vol. XLVI, no. 3 (Spring 2004), p. 116-135.

 

Link, Albert N., and John T. Scott. "Evaluating Public Sector R and D Programs: The Advanced Technology Program's Investment in Wavelength References for Optical Fiber Communications", The Journal of Technology Transfer, vol. XXX, no. 1-2 (Dec. 2004), p. 241-251.

 

Rogers, Juan D., and Barry Bozeman. "Basic Research and the Success of Federal Lab-industry Partnerships", The Journal of Technology Transfer, vol. XXII, no. 3 (Sept. 1997), p. 37-47.

 

Tassey, Gregory. "Underinvestment in Public Good Technologies", The Journal of Technology Transfer, vol. XXX, no. 1-2 (Dec. 2004), p. 89-113.

 

Witt, C.E., et al. "Ten Years of Manufacturing R and D in PVMaT -- Technical Accomplishments, Return on Investments, and Where We Go Next", in: Twenty-eighth IEEE PV Specialists Conference, Anchorage, AK, Sept. 17-22, 2000.

(775890: (Feb. 2008) DOE Information Bridge)

Internet Resources

Dunbar, Brian. Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Feb. 25, 2009 [April 30, 2009].

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/ocfo/home/

 

New Economics Foundation. April 12, 2009 [April 30, 2009]

http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/

 

Proving and Improving: A Quality and Impact Toolkit for Social Enterprise. 2005 [April 30, 2009]

http://www.proveandimprove.org/new/index.php

 

The ROI Institute. 2009 [May 4, 2009]

http://www.roiinstitute.net/

 

The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund. 2008 [April 30, 2009]

http://www.redf.org/

 

Social Venture Technology Group. 2009 [April 30, 2009]

http://www.svtgroup.net/