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Sustaining innovation
This new Special Interest Group will look at the innovation process as a whole with its constituent phases and elements, how they work together, the drivers and potential barriers, what needs to be done to get the environment right, as well as the timing of the process.
The innovation process has been divided into front-end idea generation, business concept development, and the results delivery phases. Senior and top managers, including a CTO and a CEO (depending on availability) will give their perspectives on these phases and their interactions in a complete system, including the drivers and the pitfalls.
Boosting the competitiveness of mature businesses
This Round Table will discuss what it takes to rejuvenate mature businesses. It will address one of the questions that keep R&D managers awake at night: "How can we avoid commoditisation and differentiate effectively from the competition?"
What is the place of service components as part of product offerings? What is the importance of business models? Is diversification the answer, or is it better to concentrate even more strongly on core competences?
Knowledge on the Move
Knowledge and know-how is added to a company through recruitment and acquisitions and mergers, through collaborations and joint ventures, etc. and it can be lost through de-mergers, divestments and people leaving the company for whatever reasons.
The Keynote Speaker will look at the fundamental problem of knowledge and know-how never being definitely acquired but rather presenting itself as a moving target. Knowledge Management has an increasingly difficult task at hand.
Case studies will illustrate how companies deal with the inflow of knowledge through acquisitions and mergers and how they handle knowledge when we have both acquisitions and spin-outs.
Planning Effectively - Challenges and Big Opportunities
The focus of the 2008 Annual Conference is on developing and managing balanced portfolios that not only address the needs of the current business cycle but look beyond it, reflecting the opportunities that will come from new science, new ways of working and new societal ambitions. Under this main theme the conference will consider the following aspects of planning in relation to Grand Challenges
- The Grand Challenges that arise as a consequence of major scientific or technological developments.
- The Grand Challenges that arise as a result of issues associated with sustainable operations, particularly driven by considerations of Climate Change and the associated questions of energy, raw materials, environmental protection, etc.
- Gaining value from the new innovation relationships that have been formed between Governments, Universities and Companies in order to address the grand challenges.
- On the principle that Fortune favours the Prepared Mind, how do companies improve the preparedness of their organisations to respond to these Grand Challenges when they emerge?
Effective global R&D focus group
This two-year Focus Group aims to boost understanding of how to manage R&D and innovation as global, increasingly open activities, especially the opportunities provided by emerging economies and BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China).
The group will highlight the good practices and explore the situations and types of company for which such practices are most relevant. It will establish how these practices can be implemented and identify the risks and types of failure, as well as considering the points to be considered before embarking.
<< Catching Up...
Planning and financing research for an uncertain world
This Representatives' Round Table examined how companies plan and finance their R&D in order to meet the various aspects of their global business objectives.
The meeting explored this theme from several perspectives, including R&D's role in extending the business portfolio; participation in significant joint ventures, either business-to-business or public/private; and opportunities and disruptions linked to major global issues such as climate change and energy security; taking into account the associated financing opportunities and the on-going requirement to maintain an adequate skill base to address business objectives.
Strategy planning for R&D and for new business
The first of two sessions, this 1 ½ -day Learning Group, with a well-balanced programme of tutoring, case studies and mutual learning in interactive sessions and discussions, provided practical training on strategy planning for R&D and for new businesses or start-ups, based on established best practices. The second session, on 2nd October 2008, will focus on progress and problems in strategy planning experienced since the first meeting.
New paradigms for lifecycle thinking
This Round Table looked into practical new paradigms for industry to create environmental designs and processes, and the usage of renewable resources and recycling. It also looked at more general issues such as the energy question and the urgency of reducing greenhouse emissions, and their consequences for R&D. The whole area of logistics (e.g. does it make sense to ship parts to Asia for assembly and then ship the assembled products back to Europe in order to produce an 'environmentally friendly' product?) and efficiency of transportation of goods and people was addressed.
Competence mapping for meeting future challenges
This Round Table explored modern tools and methods for mapping and updating both internal and external competences on a local, regional and global level and for aligning them to strategic needs. The geographical distribution of required competences affects what companies will want to strengthen internally and what they are willing to get from their networks and from alliances.
= About EIRMA
"The best management development happens when experienced managers come together to learn from each other - to discuss common concerns and visit each other's companies." – Financial Times
The European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation, which aims to enhance innovation through more effective market-oriented research and development. Unique features of the Association include the networking and personal contact that the Financial Times recommends. It's been offering this forum for over 40 years.
EIRMA provides a platform for discussing ideas and exchanging practical experience. Its activities support companies in benchmarking and improving their innovation processes through well-managed and well-organised research and development. These establish EIRMA's members as a natural first point of contact for policy makers and others seeking the business community's insight. EIRMA's website provides further information on the items featured in IQ, other key aspects of research and innovation management and records of recent meetings and all publications.
Credits
Publisher
Andrew Dearing
adearing@EIRMA.asso.fr
Editor
Luke Collins
luke@lukecollins.org
Production
Freeway Media
www.freewaymedia.com
Innovation Quarterly is published by the European Industrial Research Management Association
www.eirma.org