In today's hyper-competitive global market, the drive for growth and search for new innovative ideas, combined with increasing competitive pressures, have elevated Research, Development, and Innovation (RD&I) to one of primary strategic importance. 

However, it is often very difficult to remain focused on your RD&I objectives, as the preoccupation with immediate day-to-day operational issues often dominates your priorities. Because of their uncertain nature, it is often the RD&I initiatives that suffer most, perpetually being put on the back burner. 

To ensure the success of your RD&I initiatives, it is important to remove the uncertainty and understand:

The Truth About Research, Development, and Innovation

Research, Development, and Innovation often sounds like some grand program or large project. The reality, however, is that RD&I is scalable and can take the form of large well-funded collaborative projects or small budget activities that take up a portion of one person’s time and everything in between. 

The problem is that RD&I, at any scale, can be extremely parasitic on a corporation when the true costs and efforts are underestimated, or the project’s progress is stunted by unexpected results or inefficient development practices. 

Due to the uncertainty of outcome, RD&I project management certainly differs from conventional project management. However, it is still critical to have an appropriately detailed plan in place and to effectively control and co-ordinate the RD&I project’s activities to:

• Improve your development efficiency and overall results
• Reduce your development risk and costs
• Maximize the output and ROI value of RD&I within your organization
• Accelerate the timeline to commercialization of your product or services

The Importance of a Strategic RD&I Plan

Because of the evolutionary and agile nature of most RD&I, many organizations forgo the creation of a strategic development plan for fear that it will become irrelevant as the project evolves and inevitable changes are required.

THIS IS A MISTAKE.

The successful development of any new product, process or technology often hinges on establishing a solid RD&I plan. It should be structured to provide the clarity, agility, and conviction necessary to realize your development aspirations, and should consider the following 5 Step Process:

 
1. Establish RD&I Goals, Objectives, and Boundaries

• Establish clear and measurable RD&I project goals and objectives. Be clear in distinguishing between the overall project goals and the technical objectives necessary to achieve them, and determine how you will know the project is progressing or has been successful. 
• Establish the scope of the project. For example, are you developing a prototype, minimally viable product, full commercial product, etc.? Just as importantly, identify what is outside the scope of the project.
• You will have limited resources, so it is crucial to keep them on track and deploy them in areas directly related to what you are trying to achieve. To monitor this, incorporate periodic project reviews to evaluate your progress.

2. Establish Activity Sequence, Dev Phases and Resource Planning 

• An RD&I project plan should make it clear what needs to be done and by whom. You should also establish who is accountable and who will report to whom.
• Establish development activities as clearly as possible, with estimates noted about the required resources, duration and sequence.
• If applicable, segregate the project into Development Phases, identifying when the completion of a specific phase can lead to the initial commercialization of your product and/or services.
• Be sure not to underestimate the magnitude of effort required by respecting the level of uncertainty and incorporating sufficient time for unexpected problem-solving. 

3. Establish an RD&I Tracking and Communication Plan

• Determine how you will practically and consistently communicate with your development team and other stakeholders.
• Determine how frequently this will happen.
• Determine where and how RD&I activities and information will be recorded.

4. Establish Key Risks and Uncertainties

• To the best of your ability, determine the potential risks and uncertainties you may encounter during development that may delay the project or stand in the way of success.
• Alongside these, ascertain potential actions or solutions that may be implemented to mitigate these risks or resolve these uncertainties.
• Create a “Risk Log” that can be reviewed and updated during project reviews.

5. Summarize Estimated Costs and Establish Funding Opportunities

• Although it can be difficult during the early stages of planning, it is imperative to establish a reasonable cost base for your RD&I that reflects its true costs and efforts, recognizing that the path to the final solution will be met by several obstacles.
• Once a reasonable cost base is established determine how you will fund your RD&I. 
  • Will it be funded internally? 
  • Will you seek investment? 
  • Will you seek government funding? 
  • Will it be part of a commercial job?
  • Will it be a combination of any or all the above?

How Can Transtech Research Help?

At Transtech Research Inc., we understand that Research, Development, and Innovation (RD&I) is foundational to bridging the gap from conceptualization to successful commercialization. Our primary mission is focused on providing innovators with a comprehensive suite of RD&I tools, resources, and collaborative services, all meticulously designed to help you mitigate the inherent challenges associated with RD&I, allowing you to meet your innovation goals while maintaining efficient resource allocation and financial stability.

Whether taking advantage of one or all of our “Value Hubs”, which includes our Idea Hub, Development Hub, Funding Hub and Community Hub, we can help clients:

• Maximize the value and output of RD&I within their organization.
• Improve current and future development efficiency with the capturing of intellectual property within TranstechWeb, our online development lifecycle management tool.  
• Identify problems and develop cost-effective solutions. 
• More successfully take advantage of government funding programs and incentives such as: SR&ED, FedDev, IRAP, O-AMP, etc.  
• Accelerate the timeline to successful commercialization.