Measurement of Scientific, Technological and Innovation Activities
The Frascati Family
In June 1963 the OECD met national experts on R&D statistics in the Italian town of Frascati. The guidelines they adopted became the Frascati Manual, and later the anchor of a family of manuals that define how countries measure research, innovation and the people and technology behind them.
1963 Frascati1992 Oslo1995 Canberra
Manuals in the family
Articles
These manuals are why statisticians in different countries mean the same thing when they say “R&D”, “researcher” or “innovation”. They spell out what counts, who is counted and how. That is what makes it possible to compare R&D spending in Warsaw, Oslo and Seoul on the same basis.
Here you will find each manual explained in plain language, with the key definitions quoted and paragraph numbers, so you can check them yourself in the official text. The second part of the site is about Frascati itself, a small hill town with a surprising number of research institutes.
The five manuals at a glance
| Manual | What it counts | Unit | Period | Latest edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frascati | R&D performed in a country | Money spent on R&D; people, as headcount and FTE | A specific reference period (§4.7) | 2015, 7th edition |
| Oslo | Innovations and innovation activities of firms | Firms: innovative and innovation-active | Observation period of one to three years (§3.78, §9.42) | 2018, 4th edition |
| Canberra | People qualified or working in science and technology (HRST) | People | Stocks at a given moment; flows during a period, usually a year (§§106–110) | 1995, not revised since |
| Patents | Inventions, through patent documents | Patent applications, grants and patent families | Counted by priority date (section 4.2) | 2009 |
| TBP | International trade in technology | Payments and receipts between countries | Yearly (Table 4.1) | 1990, not revised since |
Related guidance
- Measuring Globalisation: OECD Handbook on Economic Globalisation Indicators (OECD, 2005). Cited by the Frascati Manual 2015 in its treatment of R&D globalisation.
- Implications of software development for R&D measurement (OECD, June 2025). Complementary guidance to the Frascati Manual 2015 on when software development, including machine-learning projects, counts as R&D.
Sources
Checked against the sources below on 22 October 2026.
- OECD (2015), Frascati Manual 2015: Guidelines for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development, OECD Publishing, Paris. doi.org/10.1787/9789264239012-en
- OECD/Eurostat (2018), Oslo Manual 2018: Guidelines for Collecting, Reporting and Using Data on Innovation, 4th edition. doi.org/10.1787/9789264304604-en
- OECD (1995), The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities: Manual on the Measurement of Human Resources devoted to S&T – “Canberra Manual”, OECD Publishing, Paris. doi.org/10.1787/9789264065581-en
- OECD (2009), OECD Patent Statistics Manual, OECD Publishing, Paris. www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-patent-statistics-manual_9789264056442-en.html
- OECD (1990), Proposed Standard Method of Compiling and Interpreting Technology Balance of Payments Data – TBP Manual. www.oecd.org/en/publications/proposed-standard-method-of-compiling-and-interpreting-technology-balance-of-payments-data_9789264065567-en.html
- OECD (2025), Implications of software development for R&D measurement: Complementary guidance to the OECD Frascati Manual 2015 edition. www.oecd.org/en/publications/implications-of-software-development-for-r-d-measurement_fba501fc-en.html
- OECD (2005), Measuring Globalisation: OECD Handbook on Economic Globalisation Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. doi.org/10.1787/9789264108103-en