About R&D Today
R&D managers face many challenges and sources of objective, practical help can be in short supply. R&D Today aims to make world-leading knowledge and expertise more widely accessible and to encourage the sharing of ideas between practitioners and academics.
Our Themes are co-edited by guest editors, including a practitioner and an academic for each, to create a useful resource while stimulating debate about new developments. See more about our themes here.
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About RADMA
Research and Development Management Association (RADMA) is an independent charity that supports education, research and innovation in the field of R&D management.
It is charity funded by proceeds of the R&D Management Journal and provides a number of grants for post-graduate students and hosts an annual conference.
RADMA engages with researchers, practitioners, consultants and students.
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A brief history of RADMA
Jeremy Klein
The R&D Management Journal was the first publication in Europe to be dedicated to the area of research and development. The idea for the journal came from a research unit at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester which was dedicated to studies in the management of research and development. The new publication was formed in partnership with Basil Blackwell of Oxford.
Research and Development Management Association (RADMA) subsequently emerged as a means of encouraging personal subscriptions to the journal and later, more widely, as a support for the field in general.
The founding editor of R&D Management Journal and subsequently the Chairman of RADMA was Professor Alan Pearson he retired from this position in October 2013, handing over to Jeremy Klein, Director of Technologia Ltd., Cambridge.
The first R&D Management Conference was held in Manchester in 1980 and this annual event has grown over the years into a major focus for both academics and practitioners.
Over the last 30 years it has been held in number of venues mainly in European countries but also, for example, India, Amsterdam, New Zealand, Taiwan and Canada. The conference is well respected and provides a valuable means of communication and exchange of ideas as well as quality papers, which authors are encouraged to submit for publication through the usual refereeing procedures of the R&D Management Journal as well as other leading journals in the field. Scholarships to attend the conference have been provided by RADMA over many years to support students who would not have been able to attend due to lack of finance. Best paper prizes for both overall and practitioner quality and relevance have also been awarded.
RADMA has supported many other activities relevant to the field of research, technology and innovation management, such as conferences, workshops and summer schools; for example, the pioneering European Summer School in Doctoral Management with the EISAM (European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management) academic programme. Finance has also been provided to students at the Masters and Doctoral programme level and for research in a number of universities.
Charitable Objectives
As a result of these activities, RADMA was granted charitable status in 2003. Its objectives were agreed as the promotion and advancement of education in all aspects relating to the undertaking of research and development management by:
- the dissemination of results of any research undertaken by the publication of journals, books, articles and the provision of courses, workshops and conferences or any other charitable means in furtherance of the objectives of the Charity; and
- the sponsorship of students undertaking such research.
To achieve these objectives RADMA is promoting a variety of initiatives and will continue to do so in the future. It also welcomes and encourages any interested parties who may have suggestions or requirements for support that can be embraced within the objectives of the Charity.
The current RADMA trustees are:
Dr Jeremy Klein (Chairman) – Specialist in technology transfer. Director, Technologia Ltd., Cambridge
David Probert – Previously Head of the Centre for Technology Management, University of Cambridge, Institute for Manufacturing (retired)
Professor Rick Mitchell (Treasurer) – Formerly Visiting Professor of Innovation Management at Cranfield School of Management, and RAE Visiting Professor of Innovation at Cambridge University Department of Engineering
Professor Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen – Professor of Design Engineering and Innovation Initiative for Digital Economy, University of Exeter Business School
Hugh Cameron – Senior Research Fellow, Manchester Business School (retired)
Dr. Allison Haitz – VP, Business Unit Head – Food, Wacker Chemie, Munich
Professor Fiona Lettice – Professor in Innovation Management, Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia
Dr David Baxter – Associate Professor of Innovation, Southampton Business School, University of Southampton
Dr Val Lynch – CEO, AND Technology Research, Epping; Industrial Collaborator, University of Cambridge
Professor Beverly Wagner – Professor of Innovation and Supply Chain Management, University of Strathclyde