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Come face to face with the globalisation of R&D
EIRMA is planning a two-year programme of meetings and learning trips that will help R&D managers discover the best ways to access the wealth of talent that is emerging from the universities, research organisations and companies of developing economies such as Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries).
"We have been tracking the globalisation of R&D since the beginning of the decade through our working groups, round tables and publications," said Andrew Dearing, secretary general. "The increasing pressure to access the best R&D skills, wherever they are based, means global collaboration is now an acute issue. We want to run a focus group to look at the factors involved and report back with the practical insights and in-depth advice that will help participants and other EIRMA members tackle globalisation more effectively."
Participants in the Effective Global R&D Focus Group will shape and progress a two-year research agenda through a programme of meetings, visits to R&D centres, and learning expeditions to BRIC destinations. Their work will be supported by two senior EIRMA members acting as co-chairmen, as well as by a dedicated EIRMA staffer who will also provide an academic context for the work. The Focus Group's efforts will culminate in a report and presentation to senior R&D managers at the EIRMA representatives' round table in January 2010.
"Many companies are already involved in work outside their home country and outside Europe," said Dearing, "so participants are likely to have some experience of the internationalisation of R&D. We hope the Focus Group will draw out the lessons from many such collaborations, providing a much deeper understanding of the issues involved and the most effective ways to approach future collaborations. We do not believe that there is any one-size-fits-all solution to these questions."
Participants are also expected to enjoy the usual EIRMA benefits of discussing the issues freely with a group of peers who hold similar roles but work in a wide variety of sectors and a number of countries.
The plan
The Effective Global R&D Focus Group will set its own agenda, but is likely to explore issues such as the best ways to access offshore R&D, the situations in which doing so makes sense, and the characteristics a company needs to run successful collaborations. It is also likely to consider topics such as how to decide whether to begin a collaboration, how to make it work, and the most common risks and reasons for failure.
Having set its agenda, the Focus Group will organise activities to test and refine its ideas. It will make at least one study visit to an R&D and innovation centre outside Western Europe, to learn and share ideas face-to-face.
"This Focus Group is a new activity for EIRMA and in the best traditions of innovation, it carries some risk," said Dearing. "We need a minimum number of people to commit to Focus Group activities for two years, to develop the level of insight that will be worthwhile for the participants and other EIRMA members. If we can't create this critical mass the project will continue, but in another form."
Ideally, the Focus Group will be made up of about 15 people from two backgrounds. Most will be in their 30s to early 40s, used to working in teams, and will benefit by developing their strategic understanding of effective global innovation management. A smaller group of senior executives will mentor the rest, as well as developing their own insights into the globalisation of R&D.
The support
The Focus Group will be jointly chaired by Léopold Demiddeleer, Director of Future Businesses at Solvay, and Dietmar Theis, department head of strategic marketing co-operation at Siemens.
Demiddeleer's career in the chemicals industry has given him broad experience of the internationalisation of R&D. He has helped form companies, subcontract work, and manage university collaborations in Europe, the US, China, and Korea.
"I think the Focus Group will enable younger managers to benefit from the concrete examples, real insights and practical advice that more experienced managers offer," he said. "Participants will also add global connections to the personal networks that will sustain them throughout their careers.
"For me, being a part of the Focus Group is about helping develop the next generation of senior managers, as well as giving something back to the EIRMA community."
Theis has a long career in the electrical and electronics engineering sector and has watched Siemens, his employer, do an increasing amount of R&D outside Germany.
"I've been in the research group at Siemens for more than 30 years and it has become very clear to me that the R&D operations of a global company have to be where its markets are," he said. "The question is how to manage that effectively.
"I also teach at the Technical University of Munich, so it will be satisfying to bring some of that academic thinking to life through my involvement in the Focus Group."
Edwige Chassagneux, an EIRMA staffer, will provide full-time support and an academic context for its work, drawing on her studies of globalisation issues.
"It's an interesting topic because it implies new issues for companies and research organisations," she said. "There are still many open questions on the best way to coordinate such relationships. How do we deal with cultural diversity and geographical distance? How do we boost technology transfer? What are the most effective organisational structures? We will try to open new windows on these issues, considering that the diversity of companies means there is no single approach."
Chassagneux has studied the location of European R&D centres as a final-year project for her research Masters degree in international and development economics at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, and co-wrote Factors in the choice of location for R&D centres abroad: case study of Europe in the journal Economie et Société, (tome XLI, no 5, mai 2007) when she worked in the economics department of the French Institute for International Relations (Ifri). Chassagneux also contributed to the OECD's project on globalisation and open innovation during her time as a research assistant at INSEAD. She has a Masters degree in business management, jointly awarded by the Burgundy School of Business in Dijon and the University of Granada, Spain.
Chassagneux is now working on a PhD on the globalisation of R&D and open innovation and is supervised by Dr Philippe Laredo, from the LATTS-CNRS research institute at l'Ecole nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, in Paris.
The details
The Effective Global R&D Focus Group will meet to plan its agenda on 12 June 2008. Members or their nominees who want to join the Group are invited to commit to several one- or two-day meetings, plus one or more learning expeditions to a BRIC country. The idea is to identify the best models and critical issues, and test any hypotheses against the experience of companies with foreign R&D practices.
"Globalisation is a fact of R&D management," said Dearing. "The young managers who join this Focus Group have the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of the issue, through collaboration with colleagues and visits, that will serve them well in the increasingly global context of their work."
Full details of the Effective Global R&D Focus Group and the registration form can be found on the EIRMA website here.