Basic definitions and terms
Research and development activity ( R&D) includes systematically conducted creative work, undertaken in order to increase knowledge, including knowledge about man, culture and society as well as for discovering new uses for this knowledge.
Research and development activity includes
a) basic research, i.e. experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundation of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view;
b) industrial research (previously applied research) – is the research undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge and skills which are directed to developing new products, processes or services, or to their substantial improvement; the research includes developing component parts of complex systems, particularly to assess usability of generic technology, except for prototypes being in the course of developmental works; until 2006 defined as “applied research”, according to the Law dated 15 June 2007 on the amendment of the Law on Rules of Financing of Science (Journal of Laws No. 115, item 795);
c) experimental development, include purchasing, combining, developing and using already available knowledge and skills from the field of science, technology and economic activity as well as other knowledge and skills in order to plan production as well as to develop and design new, changed or improved products, processes or services. Experimental development does not include routine and periodical changes introduced to products, production lines, productive processes, already existing services as well as other operations in process, even if such changes mean improvement. Information regarding research and development activity includes the following groups of entities conducting this activity:
a) scientific and research-development units, i.e. units whose main activity is performing R&D activity:
- scientific units of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
- branch research-development units, i.e. state owned units working on the basis of the Law of 25 VII 1985 on the Branch R&D Units (uniform text Journal of Laws 2001
No. 33, item 388 with later amendments), - others, i.e. private units whose main activity is performing R&D (NACE rev. 1.1 division 73’’Research and development’’);
b) science support units (scientific libraries, scientific archives, scientific societies and other ’’auxiliary’’ units);
c) development units — economic entities, primarily industrial enterprises, with their own R&D facilities (laboratories, design offices, technical development plants, etc.), performing
research and development activity mainly with an experimental development character along with their principal activity;
d) higher education institutions;
e) other units — among others cover hospitals conducting R&D activity along with their principal activity, excluding clinics of medical academies (universities) and the Medical Centre for Postgraduate Education included in the category ’’higher education institutions’’ as Research and development activity (R&D) 23 well as hospitals having the status of research institutes included in the category ’’branch research-development units’’.
Data regarding employment in R&D activity include exclusively persons employed directly on this activity (or providing direct services for R&D) and spending at least 10 per cent of
their normal working time on R&D. The number of persons (excluding data in table 1.1; 1.6 and 1.8) engaged in R&D is expressed in full-time equivalents(FTE). Full-time equivalents (FTE) are calculating units used to establish the actual time spent on research and development work. One FTE equals one person-year spent exclusively on R&D.
Employment in R&D activity includes:
a) researchers (RSE), i.e. professionals (scientists and engineers) having higher education
degrees engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge, products, processes,
methods, and systems, and in the management of the projects concerned;
b) technicians and equivalent staff are persons whose main tasks require technical knowledge
- and experience in one or more fields of engineering, physical and life sciences, or
social sciences and humanities. They participate in R&D by performing scientific
and technical tasks involving the application of concepts and operational methods,
normally under the supervision of researchers;
c) other
- supporting staff include skilled and unskilled craftsmen, secretarial and clerical staff
participating in R&D projects or directly associated with such projects.
Intramural expenditures on R&D Expenditures incurred in a reporting year on R&D activity
in the reported entity, irrespective of origin of such the funds. They cover both current
expenditures and investment outlays on fixed assets related to R&D activity, but do not cover
depreciation of these assets. Intramural expenditures on R&D activity are surveyed according
to costs category and according to sources of financing, i.e. sources of funds for this activity by
entities conducting it.
Current expenditures on R&D activity - personnel outlays and costs of consumption of
materials, nondurable objects and energy, costs of services made by other contractions (other
than R&D) including: third party processing, transport, repair, bank, postal, telecommunication,
information technology, publishing, municipal, etc. services, costs of business trips and
other current costs including in particular taxes and fees charged on costs of operating activity
and profits, property insurance and equivalent for the benefit of employees – in the part in
which they are related to R&D activity. Total current expenditures do not include depreciation
of fixed assets and VAT tax.
Capital expenditures on fixed assets comprise expenditures on purchase or manufacture of
research equipment, necessary for performing particular R&D projects, meeting the criteria
for inclusion in fixed assets, but — according to the regulation in force — until completion of
the projects not included in fixed assets but treated as current assets (decree of the Chairman
of the State Committee for Scientific Research from 30 XI 2001, Journal of Laws No. 146, item
24 Działalność badawcza i rozwojowa
1642, §13); until 2002, expenditures on such equipment were included in current expenditures
on R&D.
Extramural expenditures on R&D activity – expenditures on R&D works acquired from
other domestic and foreign contractors (subcontractors) together with contributions and other
resources – in part related to R&D activity - on international organizations and scientific
associations, such as: CERN, ESA or Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.
Gross value of fixed assets is the value of expenditure to purchase or manufacture without
deducting consumption value (depreciation).
Degree of consumption of research equipment is the percentage relation of the value of
consumption to the gross value of research equipment.
Revenue includes costs of purchase of research equipment included into fixed assets and
the value of research equipment obtained gratuitously in reporting year.
The following institutional sectors were listed:
a) business enterprises sector – includes development units (enterprises) and research-development
units in which research works and experimental development are mainly
conducted from nonbudgetary means;
b) government sector – includes units of Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and research-development
units in which research works and experimental development are mainly
conducted from budgetary means;
c) higher education sector.
Five main fields of science were listed:
a) natural sciences, which include mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, Earth and related
environmental sciences;
b) technical sciences (including military);
c) medical sciences (including pharmaceutics and physical education);
d) agricultural science,
e) social sciences, which include economics, law, as well as the humanities (including theology
and arts: film, music, plastic arts, theatre).
Tables are compiled based on current reporting – survey of research and development activity
(R&D) realized by Central Statistical Office on PNT-01 and PNT-01/s (for higher education
institutions) questionnaire, based on existing international methodologies presented in the
Frascati Manual, applicable in the member states of OECD and UE.