Efficiency Evaluation of Research Groups Using Data Envelopment Analysis

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare efficiency of research groups in the
Center of Social and Cultural Research. There are several tools for efficiency evaluation.
The method used in this study was Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in which rate of output is
evaluated by input and effective and non-effective units are determined. The first step in DEA is to
prepare a list of inputs and outputs. The inputs in this study were personnel and administrative
costs, the ratio of group staff to the total staff of the center and person-hours of labor. The outputs
of this study contained the number of finished research projects, proportion of allocated budget to
the total budget issued and the Percent of the projects’ progress. The survey was carried out in
20 research groups, using DEA method. The analysis indicated that 5 groups were efficient and
3 groups were on border line. To improve non-efficient groups and converting them to efficient
ones, we suggest some adjustments in inputs and outputs.