While specific R&D targets can be useful in terms of increasing innovative capacity, two points to remember about them are:  3/4  First, research targets measured in terms of inputs, such as the amount of money spent or researchers employed, do not substitute for the effectiveness of innovation, which would ideally be measured by some output measure and its positive impact on productivity.
And second, a national innovation policy must operate within a strict cost/benefit framework, particularly since smaller economies lack resources to fund all fields of research at high levels. While gross spending on R&D of 2.5 per cent of GNP by 2010 is below the target set for the EU as a whole, it is an ambitious target given Ireland’s relatively low starting level.