Evaluation of Frontrunner Initiative for the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology

Five years after the start of the program, ZSI and Technopolis Group Austria conducted an evaluation of the Frontrunner initiative.

The evaluation questions related to the program design, implementation, international comparison as well as impact. The focus was put also on further development of the program and possible first effects. It was therefore primarily a formative evaluation, ie gaining of insights for the programmatic development of the Frontrunner initiative, especially by examining the design and the processes. International experiences broadened the horizons and positioned the program taking into account the program objectives themselves and the indicators with which they were measured. The evaluation also had summative elements, which included the verification of the achievement of objectives, including the objectives and indicators set, as well as the study of effectiveness, efficiency and additionality. The main purpose of this study was thus accountability for the use of public funds.

The essential added value of the evaluation lay in the combination of "evidence", ie observable and comprehensible inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts, and the associated processes, in order to be able to make informed statements about the conception, implementation and initial effects of the program and finally, draw recommendations for the future design of the programme.

The results, which are summarized in the final report, serve the political level to present a recommendation for the adjustment of the support program.

Team:

• Mag. Helmut Gassler (on educational leave) (project leader)

Section: Research Policy & Development

Partners:

• TECHNOPOLIS FORSCHUNGS- UND BERATUNGSGESELLSCHAFT MBH

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