Basic and Applied Research

Basic research seeks to expand knowledge and understanding without pursuing an immediate practical use. Applied research also seeks new knowledge, but its primary objective is to address a specific practical problem or achieve a defined practical aim. In the innovation chain, they differ mainly in their immediate purpose, not in scientific rigour.

Difference in primary objective

• Basic research investigates the underlying principles, mechanisms or relationships governing phenomena.
• Basic research is undertaken without a particular application or use being its immediate aim.
• Applied research directs investigation towards a specific practical need, problem or objective.
• Applied research begins with a practical objective, although its results may still add to general knowledge.

Place in the innovation chain

Basic research can provide foundational knowledge from which possible applications emerge. Applied research directs such knowledge, together with other available knowledge, towards solving identified problems. It is therefore more application-oriented, but it does not automatically produce a market-ready technology.

• Experimental development uses knowledge gained from research and practical experience to create or improve products, processes or services.
• Further testing, engineering, production and diffusion may be necessary before research results become usable innovations.
• The innovation chain is not strictly linear because research, development and practical use can generate feedback for one another.

A two-way relationship

Basic and applied research are interconnected rather than mutually isolated categories.

• Knowledge produced through basic research can later enable applications that were not originally anticipated.
• Practical problems encountered in applied research can generate new questions for basic research.
• The distinction may become blurred when a research programme simultaneously advances understanding and pursues practical goals.