Although all of the Battelle-affiliated National Laboratories use performance metrics, such as patents, publications, and invited talks to measure impact, each one does it differently. Snowball Metrics is a framework developed by research-intensive universities in the United Kingdom that provides clearly defined methodologies for metrics that are data source- and system-agnostic. “The aspiration is for these metrics to become global standards that enable institutional benchmarking, and to cover the entire spectrum of research activities.” The concept of a Battelle Snowball Metrics Working Group originated at a meeting of the Battelle chief research officers (CROs) in Q3 of fiscal year 2017. The CROs convened this working group to utilize the Snowball Metrics framework to build and employ a method to calculate metrics that will enable the Laboratories to better understand their strengths and weaknesses. This information allows these Laboratories to build and monitor effective strategies for evaluating science and technology as individual Laboratories, and as a Battelle institution. Initial efforts of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s adoption of Snowball Metrics were used as a seed for the working group. This document describes the elements needed for building a foundation for the framework to work across these Laboratories, and delivers “recipes” for four recommended Snowball Metrics to use as a starting set.
Revised: November 29, 2018 |
Published: February 21, 2018