Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020

4. RTI Evaluation Culture and Practice
189
2019. This included an assessment of the activities 
and their impact and a comparison with Sweden and 
Switzerland; it evaluated reporting and monitoring 
activities, estimated benefits and significance, pro-
posed recommendations and outlined four future 
scenarios.
Methods
Different methods were used as part of the evalua-
tion: an online survey was used to question organisa-
tions and individuals who have used OSTA services 
(researchers, research institutions and universities, 
companies, participants in network meetings) in 
Austria and the two countries where OSTA is based 
regarding their experiences with OSTA services and 
activities as well as the impact and sustainability of 
the services. Interviews were carried out in person 
and on the telephone with all responsible ministerial 
departments as well as with central stakeholders 
and actors in Austria and the countries in which the 
relevant party is based. Representatives from other 
European countries were also interviewed for the 
purposes of the international comparison. Desk re-
search was used to analyse relevant literature and a 
wide range of materials from both OSTAs (planning 
documents, reports and management). Two focus 
groups were also held with stakeholders and institu-
tional players in Austria, not least in order to validate 
the results of the survey and interviews. An on-site 
visit supported the in-depth evaluation of the activi-
ties and structures of the offices.
Target groups and stakeholders
The diverse responsibilities of the OSTAs clearly 
show that they address a large number of target 
groups from a broad area. Fig. 4-1 first of all shows 
the customers in Austria and in the countries where 
the organisation is based receiving services from the 
OSTAs, as well as the management of the offices 
with the steering committee and the ministries, col-
laboration with the cooperation partners in Austria 
and locally, and finally the general public. The evalu-
ation addressed all these groups using the methods 
mentioned above.
Findings
Both offices are actively pursuing their tasks with 
great commitment and the work programmes agreed 
with the steering committee are largely being imple-
mented and documented in annual reports. They are 
well connected with other (Austrian) organisations 
locally, and their employees are service-oriented, 
competent and qualified. A majority of the people 
and organisations that use OSTA services are also