An integrated mathematical-computer approach for R&D project selection in large public organisations

Abstract

This work concerns R&D management in social institutions, state-owned enterprises, and other non-profit organisations which periodically call for proposals for projects and distribute funds among them. The popular heuristics are criticised and a new integrated approach is proposed. This method is able to model the system of preferences and beliefs from upper management and to reflect it during the project evaluation and selection process by using 'intelligent' tools. The usual imprecision concerning funding requirements for each particular project are modelled through fuzzy sets. Other important results are: a quantitative model of quality of the portfolio combined with a linear integer-mixed approach for finding optimal solutions in problems of real size and a computer system that supports project selection processes at the top level of organisations, independently of their size.