External Review of the Fund
In 2004 the 21st Century Fund’s Board selected Partners in Research (PIR) from among four respondents to a ‘request for proposals’ requesting a study of the outcomes and processes of the Fund. PIR was selected primarily because its team intended to use peer review to examine the Fund’s review and awards selection process as well as to substantially sample the technical and economic outcomes of Fund awards. The Board felt that this level of technical feedback to the awardee community would be an important contribution to the future development of the Fund’s projects.
Since the PIR report would contain confidential information about our awards and their partners, many of which have commercial interests, the Fund’s Board asked PIR to provide the Report in a manner which does not disclose proprietary information, along with appendices which will contain confidential project specifics. The Board formally determined that the Report’s appendices would be considered confidential, but that the Report version which does not disclose proprietary information will be made public, and posted on the Fund’s web site.
The Fund received the PIR report and appendices on February 14, 2004.