In this weakened global economy, investments in innovation and discovery face a particularly vexing catch-22: our best prospect for a sustainable environment and increased economic growth lies in investments in innovation, yet research funding faces cuts due to dwindling economic resources. Under these circumstances, it is critical that we are able to identify and understand the value and impact of investments in innovation and then demonstrate this value to stakeholders in order to secure necessary resources. Furthermore, it is important to be able to compare different investment strategies from across the globe in order to arrive at “best practices” for maximizing the impact of investments while responding to limitations in financial resources. For these comparisons to be most effective, methods for harmonizing or standardizing data collected on research investments and impacts should be examined as a method for making the data interoperable across multiple systems, funding schemas, economies, and states. This session provides several perspectives on data interoperability as well as the needs and requirements of evaluators and stakeholders of research and innovation across the global community.