Abstract: To evaluate the R & D inputoutput performance of the provincial engineering centers, technical effectiveness analysis is carried out. In this study, provincial engineering centers locating at 21 cities in Guangdong province are evaluated with the data from 2008. The C2R and BC2 models of the data envelopment analysis (DEA) are applied. The results show that the overall level of the technical effectiveness is generally low, but it is relatively high for the centers that locate in the Pearl River Delta region. The low pure technique effectiveness is serious. Also, the low effectiveness in scale is a very prominent. Notice that pure technical effectiveness has significant effect on the technical effectiveness. The engineering centers locating at 16 cities have redundant resource input, which is a large number. However, the output of these centers is low, especially the number of patent certified is small. Based on the results, suggestion is given for the government R & D investment to increase the technical effectiveness.

Key words: provincial engineering center, technical effectiveness; , data envelopment analysis(DEA)