Key R&D Themes

There is no shortage of challenges facing R&D managers in today’s world, but sources of practical help can be in short supply.

Rationale for selection of key themes

We asked R&D managers across a range of industry sectors, and within organisations of varying size, what topics they wanted to know more about. This revealed a list of subject areas where more information and advice would be helpful.

We have selected six of these to become ‘themes’ on the R&D Today website and invited some experienced practitioners and respected academics to curate each theme and contribute their own views and personal recommendations for good tools, papers and other resources.

As the dialogue has developed, we have extended the scope of the themes, adding additional themes that are emerging as areas of interest and aim to include comments and experience from other R&D professionals around the world.

If there is a subject that you feel would benefit from this treatment then do get in touch and if you would like to become a theme editor please see further details here.

Key R&D Theme Subjects

Sustainable Innovation

Sustainable innovation supports growth and profitability by facilitating product reuse and circularity and making business operations more efficient and safe. It is also essential for the health of the planet.

Dynamic capabilities for strategic innovation

By cultivating ‘dynamic capabilities’ an organization can develop the strategic agility to continuously assess and – if necessary – renew their competitive advantages to survive and thrive in the future.

Business model innovation

Business model innovation is vital to the future sustainability of organisations and firms. With digitalization, electrification, and the circular economy, among the factors reshaping the ways industries operate, adapt, and innovate, necessitating novel business models.

Intellectual Property Rights

Around 90 per cent of the value of modern-day companies is determined by their intangible assets, which includes Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), such as patents, copyrights, trademarks and design rights. Formal and informal leverages can be used to create and protect value.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, Innovation Ecosystems and platforms

With the growth of digital platforms the need for Entrepreneurial Ecosystems to be geographically co-located has become less crucial. This is creating the opportunity for looser, more dispersed innovation ecosystems.

Innovation Leadership

Although inherently risky, innovation management has an underlying body of knowledge and tools and approaches that can be widely applied.

How to measure the value created by innovation

How do you measure value when innovation is an early stage, and has not yet produced products or services that can be monetarised?

Innovation for a Sustainable Future

The big transition to a low-carbon economy will come as leaders see that innovation, focussed on increasing sustainability, also offers competitive advantage and increased efficiency. With this change in the narrative, disruptive technologies will emerge as game changers.

Contributors

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Tim Minshall

Tim is Head of the Centre for Technology Management at IfM

Letizia Mortara

Letizia is a Lecturer at the University of Cambridge and Head of the R&D Management Conference

Dominic Oughton

Dominic is Principal Industrial Fellow for IfM Education and Consultancy Services Associates

Rick Mitchell

Rick is a Visiting Professor of Innovation for University of Cambridge and Cranfield University

Joe de Sousa

Dr Joe de Sousa is Senior Leader, Non-Executive Director and Consultant at Melhor Consulting

Yongjiang Shi

Yongjiang is Research Director of the Centre for International Manufacturing and a lecturer at IfM

Allison Haitz

Allison is VP Business Unit Head of Food at Wacker.

Imoh Ilevbare

Imoh works at the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge as a Senior Solutions Development Specialist

Rob Phaal

Dr Rob Phaal is a Director of Research (STIM) in the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge.

Clare Farrukh

Clare is Senior Research Associate of Technology Management at IfM.

Sven Schimpf

Sven is the Managing Director of Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research

Ieva Martinaityte

Ieva is a lecturer in Business and Management at University of East Anglia

Anne Miller

Anne is an innovator, entrepreneur and Director of the Creativity Partnership