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Abstract:

This empirical paper relates university based research project characteristics in terms of sources for research, involvement of a broad range of actors in the conceptualization of a project, breadth and depth of partner involvement, and government funding to the tangible outputs of government funded joint research projects. The study is based on the evaluation of the "programmes mobilisateurs" in the frame of the evaluation of the Plan Marshall 2.Vert par IWEPS (Institut wallon de l'Evaluation, de la Prospective et de la Statistique), based on a demand of the Walloon Government. Attention is paid to the translation of research in the project into soft outcomes which refer to results that are close to the market, and hard outcomes which refer to commercialization activities. The novelty of the paper is twofold. First, limited empirical research exists at project level on the range of soft to hard outcomes of publicly funded research. The inclusion of a broad range of indicators sheds new light on this relation. Second, the study of the effects during a time-span transcending the project duration provides new insights in the influence of pre-commercial outcomes on later successful commercialization. The paper adds to existing insights for policy makers regarding the determinants of project success and to the additionality of public funding at project level.