Journal of Intelligent Strategic Management

Journal of Intelligent Strategic Management

Designing an Intelligent Model for Financial Resource Allocation and Diversification in Iranian Research and Innovation Organizations: A Multi-Layer, AHP-Based and Performance-Oriented Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Ehsan Ehteshamnejad
Science, Technology and Innovation Economics and Financing, National Research Institute for Science Policy, Tehran 1435894461, Iran
10.87453/bumara.2026.373601.1955
Abstract
Sustainable, diversified, and intelligently managed financing is a fundamental prerequisite for research and innovation organizations transitioning toward a knowledge-based economy. Iran's research and innovation system, however, suffers from severe dependence on public budgets (75-90 percent for universities) and the absence of performance-based allocation mechanisms. This study aims to design an intelligent model for allocating and diversifying financial resources across Iranian research organizations that draws on successful international experiences while remaining compatible with the country's specific constraints. Using a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach, the study combines documentary analysis, a comparative review of twelve international research-financing models, and an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) conducted with a seven-member expert panel drawn from science-and-technology policymaking, university financial management, and innovation economics. Six main criteria (weighted between 0.25 and 0.08) were defined to assess model transferability, and the twelve models were scored against thirteen sub-indicators. The findings show that R&D tax incentives (score 4.52), public-private co-investment (4.32), and competitive grants (4.28) hold the highest implementation priority. Based on these results, a four-layer model comprising institutional block funding, competitive grants, performance-based funding, and non-governmental revenues was designed, targeting a reduction of the government budget share from roughly 75 to 60 percent and a corresponding increase in private-sector, self-generated, and endowment resources over a ten-year horizon. The proposed model offers an operational framework for the intelligent, sustainable management of financial resources in research organizations and can serve as a basis for national policy reform.
Keywords
financial resource allocation
research financial management
multi-layer financing
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)
research organizations
Subjects
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Journal of Intelligent Strategic Management
Volume 5, Issue 4 - Serial Number 16
Winter 2026
Pages 203-224