Preparing for a brighter future
This issue of eIQ looks at ways in which members of Europe’s R&D community can prepare themselves for a brighter future by managing their assets more effectively, whether those assets are their overall R&D strategy, the open-innovation opportunities that stem from being based in a particular location, or the knowledge that their research functions generate.
Our first feature looks at ways to sustain a long-term R&D strategy through the economic crisis, using a combination of foresight techniques, scenario planning and a refined focus on both research goals and the structure of the business.
Our second feature considers the value of a company’s location to its prospects for undertaking effective R&D. We also have Viewpoints on the topic from Jane Davies of Manchester Science Parks and Frans Schmetz of High Tech Campus Eindhoven, both of whom are trying to create environments that strengthen the innovation prospects of the companies who work in them.
Our third feature looks at another under-managed asset in R&D: the knowledge that is created by the R&D process. Members of EIRMA’s special interest group on knowledge management (SIG-III) have collaborated to bring us the latest thinking on the topic. A Day in the Life interview with Jacky Doumenjou, knowledge manager and foresight bulletin co-ordinator, CRIGEN – GDF SUEZ, offers insights into the day-to-day concerns of knowledge managers, while a paper from him considers the tensions between project-based R&D and knowledge management.
There’s more on innovation in challenging times in the rest of this issue. A report from EIRMA’s CTO Forum suggests that a recession can be an opportunity to refocus the R&D function. Professor Luke Georghiou, of Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, argues in his Viewpoint that a shift to serving social, rather than consumer needs, could help European companies thrive over the long term.
There’s also a report from the recent Brussels conference on the European Research Area, which is gradually improving the context in which European innovation takes place. And Albert Zeestraten, former associate general counsel for patents at Shell, gives us his view of how the IP system needs to change in response to this recession. Finally, this issue’s Country Profile looks at Sweden.
Look out for the eIQ Action Points, bullet points of ideas to remember and implement in your organisation, which are embedded at the bottom of each major feature and directly accessible from the links below.
eIQ Action Points – Sustaining long-term R&D strategies
eIQ Action Points – Open innovation and the value of place
eIQ Action Points – Making a place for innovation
eIQ Action Points – Building an open innovation ecosystem
eIQ Action Points – Knowledge management in R&D organisations
eIQ action Points – Knowledge management in large companies
eIQ Action Points – Social innovation as a response to the current economic crisis
eIQ Action Points – A better IP system after the crash
Leopold Demiddeleer, president
EIRMA