Evaluation of socio-economic effects of R and D results at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. 2. Socio-economic evaluation of the basic research at JAERI

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), as a core organization devoted to comprehensive nuclear energy research, has steadily promoted various types of research and development (R and D) studies since its establishment in June 1956. Research activities are aimed at performing (1) R and D for nuclear energy, (2) the utilization and application of radiation-based technologies, and (3) the establishment of basic and fundamental research in the nuclear field. Last year, the socio-economic effects on items (1) and (2) were qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated. The quantitative evaluation of item (3) from the viewpoint of a socio-economic effect, however, calls for a different concept and methodology than previously used cost-benefit approach. Achievements obtained from the activities conducted over the last 10 years implied that socio-economics in basic research funded by the public could contribute to the (1) increase in useful intellectual stocks, (2) upbringing of highly skilled college graduates, (3) construction of new scientific facilities and creation of methodologies, (4) stimulation and promotion of social interrelations by networking, (5) increase of one's ability to solve scientific problems, and (6) establishment of venture companies. In this study, we focused on item (4) for the analysis because it assumed that the external economic effect has a link with the socio-economic effects accompanying the networking formation. For the criteria of socio-economic effects we assume that the external effect becomes significant in proportion to the width of networking and/or the magnitude of cooperation measured by numbers of co-writing studies between JAERI and the research bodies, namely private and governmental sectors and universities. Taking these criteria into consideration, the subsequent four items are prepared for quantitative study. They are (1) to clarify the basic research fields where JAERI has been established a significant effort to date, (2) to ascertain a significant difference in the emphasized basic research fields (hereinafter abbreviated as EBRF) that exist among JAERI and other major research bodies, (3) to notify the actual width of networking in EBRF and quantity of socio-economic effect, and (4) to reveal the networking predominance from the viewpoint of the socio-economic effect during EBRF overlapping among JAERI and the other research bodies. Because the Department of Materials Science has the largest scale factors compared with the other departments in JAERI, it was selected. The obtained results are: (1) EBRF in the department are represented by the following keywords: ion irradiation, actinides, tandem accelerator, molten salt, EXAFS, neutron irradiation, synchrotron radiation, lanthanide, transmutation, ECR ion source, etc. They are all related to nuclear energy. (2) Between JAERI and 5 other (KEK, Tokyo University, etc.) research organizations, some keywords in EBRF overlap. They include synchrotron radiation, irradiation, electron microscope, neutron, cross section, fabrication and accelerators. Those did not show a significant difference in EBRF. Generally, the two organizations tended to compensate and uplift the national standard level for each other rather than compete. (3) Actinides, neutron irradiation and transmutation are representative keywords from EBRF. Additionally, neutron, nuclear reactions and actinides showed that their networking was well developed and strongly linked between JAERI and the external research bodies. They resulted in producing large socio-economic effects. (4) Actual networking on actinides showed that the volume of papers shared during the past 25 years was 25% by JAERI, 52% by the public (universities and governmental sectors), and 17% by private sectors. The growth rate of networking found by co-papers between JAERI and the public was 3-4% per 25 years and 8% during the last 5 years. Furthermore, authors networking studied here implied that JAERI independently participated in the basic research fields and gradually enlarged the external effect on networking. (5) The neutron networking grew at the research bodies and became large in magnitude; for example, co-papers written by JAERI and the private sectors increased the value to a total as high as 20%. The socio-economic effect as a result of these characteristic activities in the basic research fields at JAERI is steadily advancing. (author)