Is R&D doing you any good? [R&D effectiveness assessment model]

Research and development (R&D) competes for corporate resources, yet the relationship between its work and the advantage the company gains is often hard to see. The lag between the investment and the reward can be long. The ideas may come from R&D, but turning them into profit involves the efforts of many other departments and the outside world. These factors blur the link between the investment made and the advantage gained. So, assessing the true impact of R&D is vital if the function is going to continue. And that is important because, for many companies, the innovation that springs from R&D is vital to an organisation´s continued prosperity. This article outlines the reasoning behind, and the application of, an R&D effectiveness assessment model.