Leveraging Key Performance Indicators to Promote Environmental Stewardship in Commercial Agricultural Research

To ensure the sustainability of commercial agriculture in Sri Lanka within an increasingly competitive socio-economic environment, the sector must continuously respond to stakeholder expectations while safeguarding environmental integrity. Agricultural productivity largely depends on innovations in products and services that result from effective research and development (R&D). However, unintended environmental consequences may emerge during the implementation of R&D activities or from their resulting outputs, potentially undermining the long-term sustainability and societal value of research outcomes if such impacts are not adequately monitored and managed. In this context, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can serve as strategic tools for promoting environmental stewardship by incorporating environmental considerations into the evaluation of both the R&D process and its outputs. Accordingly, this study was conducted in two phases. Phase I involved a systematic literature review to identify environmentally relevant dimensions of research performance management. Phase II explored the potential relationships between KPIs and Key Performance Drivers (KPDs) through 32 in-depth personal interviews with stakeholders in the commercial agriculture research sector. This paper primarily draws on findings from Phase II, in which “Research for Society” emerged as a critical KPD and KPI dimension. Environmental stewardship was identified through stakeholder perspectives emphasizing environmental impact assessment, environmentally friendly research outputs, and the incorporation of environmental analysis into research evaluation. These ‘code segments’ collectively highlighted the potential of the “Research for Society” dimension as a suitable framework for integrating environmental considerations into research impact assessment. The study emphasizes the importance of leveraging KPIs not only to measure research productivity but also to promote environmentally responsible research within the broader social contexts of research practices in commercial agricultural R&D.