Collaborative R&D

Innovating together: that's the challenge of collaborative research, which many companies, whatever their size or economic sector, are turning to. Research and development projects are a form of collaboration: they involve companies, research centers or academic laboratories. Imagining and carrying out a project of this kind is part of a process which this dossier aims to provide an overall introduction to. It is aimed at engineering and science students, as well as young engineers and researchers, future contributors or leaders of collaborative R&D projects. It may also be of interest to any potential contributor to this type of project, wishing to learn more about some of the issues involved.

After outlining the background to collaborative innovation, the steps involved in building a project are detailed: how do you identify an R&D project, assess its maturity, and commit human, technical and financial resources? Project management is then addressed: drafting the project document and negotiating the consortium agreement, setting up monitoring committees and carrying out reporting tasks. The various possible ways of valorizing results are then reviewed. The presentation includes a glossary of definitions, as well as more detailed explanations of topics specific to collaborative R&D.

Managing a collaborative R&D project is a more general aspect of innovation management within companies, to which innovative project management techniques are largely applicable. The discussion here is complementary to these aspects, which are the subject of specific publications in the "Management et Ingénierie de l'Innovation" documentary resource of Techniques de l'Ingénieur. Readers will find these references in the "Pour en savoir plus" section associated with the article. An additional bibliography and links to websites provide useful resources and complete the article.