Are You Prepared to Innovate?

R&D Today – sharing ideas, good practice and innovation in R&D management

We have found the Pentathlon provides a useful framework for discussion – click through to explore further.

Latest News

R&D Management Conference 3-6 July

R&D Management Conference is kindly sponsored by Beko, BP, thyssenkrupp, Routledge Taylor & Francis and Wiley. Sessions will be of interest to academics and practitioners.

R&D Management Conference highlights for practitioners

R&D Management Conference includes many sessions of interest to practitioners including keynotes by Warren East of Rolls-Royce plc, Joe de Sousa AstraZeneca, David Teece Haas School of Business and Mark Samuels NIHR.

Where do ideas come from?

New avenues for business model innovation

Despite the high levels of interest and attention that have been applied to business model innovation, the phenomenon still represents ‘a slippery construct to study’. This fuzziness of the phenomenon is caused by inconsistencies in the conceptual framework of business models, which reside somewhere between economics and business strategy without possessing a solid theoretical anchoring in either field.

Once upon a time…

Stories reinforce our models and understanding of how innovation works in a vivid way. Not for nothing do they form the staple diet of most conference presentations, and in a more restrained fashion form the core of our teaching explains John Bessant.

Theme editors

Guest Theme Editors act as the focal point and editor for their part of the website. There will generally be two editors per Theme, one from an Academic background and one a Practitioner, acting in partnership.

Open versus closed innovation: are the metrics good enough?

Today’s business reality is not based on pure open innovation but on companies that invest simultaneously in closed as well as open innovation activities. Too much openness can negatively impact companies’ long-term innovation success, because it could lead to loss of control and core competences. Moreover, a closed innovation approach does not serve the increasing demands of shorter innovation cycles and reduced time to market.

How good are you at delivering business value from technology?

A new approach has been developed at the University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) to help companies assess how good they are at managing innovation and new technologies. The development of successful new products and services is critical for profitable, sustainable growth. Investing in new technology is often essential but represents a significant challenge in today’s globalised and rapidly changing markets.

Doctoral Studies Awards 2015/16

The following have received RADMA support for their studies.

Doctoral Studies Programme 2016

The Doctoral Studies call for applications opens 1st November 2015 and closes 29th February 2016. This award provides up to three years funding to prospective or mid-study PhD students attending a UK university.

Introducing RADMA Scholars

R&D Today is the outreach site for the Research and Development Management Association, a charitable organisation that supports research, best practice and innovation. www.radma.net

Loading...

Roman Schumacher

Sara Hajnassiri

Leon Pietschmann

Nopparuj Chindasombatcharoen

R&D Conference Tracks

R&D and Innovation Management is a dynamic field. The conference aims to capture the current interests of researchers and practitioners, curated into a number of tracks.

Innovation Leadership

Although inherently risky, innovation management has an underlying body of knowledge, tools and approaches that can be widely applied. Here is an introduction to some of these concepts.

Best books for innovation management?

There are many inspirational books for R&D management practitioners and scholars. Here is a short list of some of the best books for innovation management.

Must read papers on aspects of R&D Management

Want to know about R&D Management but too busy to read all the journals? The editors for R&D Today have each selected a journal and have made a selection of the most interesting papers of recent years.

Are these the best tools for R&D Management?

There are many excellent tools and techniques for R&D management, but all too often people re-invent the wheel as knowledge of these gems is not shared. Here are some of the tools that RADMA trustees and contributors to R&D Today have found useful, but we are keen to know what has been missed or what others think of these tools.

Eight principles of Innovation Management

Which of the eight principles of Innovation Management do you think is most important? Victoria Milne and Joanne Hyland discuss how the framework is universally applicable but can be customised as required.

R&D Project Exchange

The R&D Project Exchange offers a unique platform for collaboration between university students and companies. This initiative invites students and businesses to co-develop research proposals, ensuring a balanced approach that addresses both academic objectives and real-world industry challenges.

The innovation disconnect

There is a disconnect between R&D spend and performance, says Professor Magnus Karlsson. Ahead of the launch of the international standard ISO 56000 he explains that the purpose of an Innovation Management System is to improve an organisation’s ability to realise value under conditions of uncertainty.

Is it time to professionalise Innovation Management?

The challenge of how Innovation Management can gain the recognition it deserves stimulated a lively discussion in our webinar “Is it time to professionalise Innovation Management”. If you missed the webinar – you can watch the presentations from our two speakers and listen to the full discussion via a podcast on Soundcloud.

Innovation Management System ISO 56002:2019

Innovation is the driving force for companies to stay relevant in the market, observes the guidance for ISO 56002:2019 Innovation management system.

Innovation Manager job description

The innovation management professional job role is broad. It encompasses both strategic and operational elements. These elements can be combined into a single role, or divided into separate roles. Innovationsledarna has created this useful job description that can be used as a guide to assembling one’s own job description or to create a new role as appropriate.

Special Features

Events

Innovation & Biodiversity Industry panel

Biodiversity & Innovation – Industry Panel

The natural environment has evolved over millennia to adapt and thrive with change. Could biodiversity provide us with the concepts needed to overcome the grand challenges and build a sustainable and prosperous future? Three experts give their views in the Industry Panel, part of the R&D Management Conference 2025.

R&D Management Conference 2025

30 June – 2 July 2025, Institute of Management of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa

ISPIM Innovation Conference 2025: Innovation Powered by Nature

15-18 June 2025, Bergen, Norway. Engage with fellow innovation professionals from academia, industry, consulting and the public sector in a truly diverse event with people attending from across the globe.

Festschrift to honour Henry Chesbrough

20-21 April 2026 at Luiss Business School in Rome. 2026 will mark Henry Chesbrough‘s 70th birthday. In honour of this milestone, some of his colleagues have organized a conference, a special issue of California Management Review, and a special section of Industrial & Corporate Change.