Purpose – research on R&D projects implemented at universities shows that many researchers feel that the
requirements set on R&D project definition in the process of calls for projects brake the innovativeness and the freedom
of research. Thus, the objective of the paper is to propose a soft, fuzzy set based method of R&D project definition,
which would allow to evaluate projects in the stage of project calls, but at the same time would not act contrary to the
research ideas of the most ingenious and innovative researchers.
Research methodology – the proposal is based on the results of over 70 structured interviews with R&D project managers
from Polish and French universities. The respondents expressed their critical opinion about the required definition of
R&D projects in the application stage of most calls, suggested which elements should be improved and in which way.
Most of them criticised the required detail level of projects description and emphasized the uncertainty present in their
research. Then we propose to model this uncertainty by means of fuzzy sets.
Findings – the result of the research presented in the paper is a new way of R&D project definition, based on the fuzzy
theory, adjustable to each R&D project type. The new method of project definition will express the actual uncertainty
and innovative potential of each R&D project and thus allow a selection of R&D projects which would maximise their
contribution to the university and science development.
Research limitations – the proposed approach needs to be validated and verified on the basis of a big sample of a real
world R&D project, with the participation of a representative sample of researchers. Another limitation is a highly
probable resistance against such an approach among the researchers and research funding institutions, as it requires a
deep analysis of the planned research and its context.
Practical implications – it is proposed that the method will be used by research funding institutions in project calls. This
will increase the efficiency of financial resources spent on research, in terms of value-added per one dollar invested in
the research.
Originality/Value – the proposed method is the first approach to project definition based on fuzzy numbers and one of
very few existing approaches to project definition taking uncertainty into account
Selection of Customized ELV (End-of-Life Vehicle) Dismantling System for Different Countries by Utilizing Fuzzy Theory and Modified QFD
