Definition: Large-scale projects

Category: Frascati Manual

Large-scale projects, of which defence and aerospace are the most significant types, usually cover a spectrum of activity from experimental to preproduction development. In such circumstances, the funding and/or performing organisation often cannot distinguish between the R&D and other elements of expenditure. This distinction between R&D and non-R&D expenditures is particularly important in countries where a large proportion of government R&D expenditure is directed to defence.

It is very important to look closely at the nature of very costly pilot plants or prototypes, such as the first of a new line of nuclear power stations or of ice-breakers. They may be constructed almost entirely from existing materials and using existing technology, and they are often built for simultaneous use for R&D and for providing the primary service concerned (power generation or ice breaking). The construction of such plants and prototypes should not be wholly credited to R&D. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/Frascati_Manual_1993_summary_EN.pdf