The Tavistock Institute was commissioned in late 1997 to produce a methodology for evaluating research funded by grant-in-aid through the British Library’s Research and Innovation Centre (BLRIC – now part of the Library and Information Commission).

An evaluation framework was proposed following literature and documentary reviews, extensive interviews with a wide set of informants/stakeholders, interviews with most members of BLIRC staff and focus groups with Library and Information Systems (LIS) researchers. “Mini case studies” were conducted of recipients and applicants for BLRIC grant-in-aid.