In recent years, NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, JAPAN) is focusing not only on promoting large-scale national projects based on national roadmaps, but also on R&D support for SMEs including start-ups. In this study, the impact evaluation of NEDO’s R&D support for SMEs and start-ups is investigated using NEDO’s “follow-up monitoring” and “extended follow-up survey” data for all project participants.
The average “success” rate for SMEs was around 33% for both start-ups and SMEs excluding start-ups, which was significantly higher than the rate of large companies participating in NEDO projects, which was around 25 %.
A DID analysis was also conducted to clarify the effect of NEDO projects on participating SMEs, eliminating the external noise such as macroscopic economic trends. Careful choosing of DID controlled group and statistical tests revealed a difference on the average sales growth rate.