Survey Finds R&D to Increase in 2012 With Emphasis On Innovation

Posted: January 13, 2012

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The companies continue to participate in external R&D collaborations. While participation in consortia grows, companies are continuing to participate in alliances and joint R&D ventures.

About 70% of participating companies now have R&D facilities overseas. This year’s list of locations is longer than last year’s, suggesting that businesses are broadening their global reach. Specifically, Thailand, Argentina and Colombia are new entrants on the list, suggesting that companies are looking more to innovation in Asia and South America. In addition, there is an emergence of Eastern European countries, in particular the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania.

One thing was common among survey participants—they all were concerned over innovation. When asked "What keeps you up at night," most of the participants answered with some form of innovation. When asked about the top challenges facing R&D managers, respondents indicated that their biggest problems were “growing the business through innovation,” “accelerating innovation” and “balancing long-term and short-term R&D objectives”