R&D Plan-Informatics in the era of big data

The focus on R&D planning is gaining importance due to the ever increasing investments made in the sector as realisation has dawned upon the decision makers that investments are bound to generate benefits at a later stage. For better R&D planning, it is imperative that tools and mechanisms, particularly with the explosion of data due to the advancement in information and communication technologies (ICT), need to be developed and adopted, systematically. This paper aims to introduce Plan-Informatics approach to R&D planning that would help a nation in devising a framework for evidence based planning in R&D .The proposed Plan-Informatics approach would be more suitable in the era of big data and data centric `fourth paradigm' of scientific discovery. The Plan-Informatics will capture, accurate, analyse and visualise the big data and provide an approach towards holistic decision making and action for a long-term R&D plan of a nation.The paper also attempts to develop a Plan-Informatics framework for government sector to better utilise big data and near to real time data for effective decision making.