The Power of Collaboration: Why Partnering is Key to R&D Success
This drives keenly with industry discourse. Nowadays, partnerships are becoming increasingly effective mechanisms for doing business. This effect is only sustained when the risks of the partnership are such that collaboration offers a higher probability of success. 'Continuous Collaboration' is therefore unsustainable and can only lead to an exhaustive and costly reward.
While a partnership may mitigate risks, success is not clearly defined in terms of collaborations until the outcome is known. Nevertheless, industry experience with partnering suggests that it is a key factor in the perception of success, and we can utilize levels of partnering on previous contracts as a potential bellwether of the resulting performance, based on the willingness of institutions to put that performance in the hands of a collaborator.
Research and development is a critical area for most businesses. Indeed, through R&D, new products are created, existing goods are improved, and the productivity of the manufacturing process is enhanced.
Yet, given the often complex nature of R&D, it is perhaps not surprising that over the years, scholars writing about R&D management have often emphasized the importance of managing research and development effectively to foster business success.
Indeed, there is a general acceptance that R&D and the means through which research and development are managed have impacts upon a variety of corporate outcomes, including product outcomes, financial performance, and shareholder value.
The management of R&D performed in a collaborative manner can provide managers with an appreciation of whether they are likely to achieve the bigger and better outcomes that conventionally drive significant R&D investments, and also what capabilities can be leveraged to provoke and support collaborative endeavors.
The Benefits of Collaborative R&D
For years, regardless of private investments, the federal government has been an iconic collaborator in scientific research and discovery. Through partnerships, development in sectors such as artificial intelligence, internet of things, 5G, health studies, and space research can be spurred.
Given the focus of American manufacturing on disrupting and producing ground-breaking solutions, government can more often collaborate with specific business partners with realistic viewpoints in commerciality, regulatory frameworks, deployment models, and business models.
This results in the development of cutting-edge technologies and real-world testing facilities where technology transition and/or commercialization can be vetted. The act of "enlisting" doubles R&D in many respects.
It can significantly quicken the R&D cycle because resources are more targeted. Secondly, the process of doing so erects walls through locations and scientific premises, assuming that companies involved are willing collaborators and engaged partners.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked attributes to successful R&D is undoubtedly the most powerful: partnerships. Most likely, the notion of joining forces occurs to every researcher, and yet the idea is so often met with skepticism.
However, as the business leaders and strategists argue, the advantages are as straightforward as one may expect. As it were, whether you're searching for insight into the cutting-edge innovations of your market or simply in need of a new idea, collaboration is indeed a crucial aspect of any company's R&D initiatives - regardless of its size. It can be a bridge to information, resources, and guidance that is otherwise hard to come by.
Strategies for Successful Partnerships
A number of early-phase partnering approaches cater to relationships between individuals. In these strategies, sponsors are encouraged to be honest about their goals and through frank discussion, find common ground to move forward together. Whether they should do so is often a case-by-case decision. In other words, an existing supplier for one group could become a potential collaboration partner on a new project.
Companies often advocate adopting a partnering approach from the first study conducted with CROs or academia. This includes the careful management of the partner to understand and address any issues. It also involves clear communication, the right resources, and the construction of agreements that are flexible enough to identify clear responsibilities and often, to have an exit strategy. By finding common ground, education, and alignment, the growth of an early-phase relationship is all but guaranteed.
Collaboration and partnering are powerful tools in any R&D manager's arsenal. Together, pharma and biotech companies can gain access to complementary skills, knowledge, and resources. In addition, partnering can expand development and commercialization opportunities while encouraging joint problem-solving.
This can be particularly important when it comes to conducting a series of projects over the long term. Life science companies use a variety of different partnership strategies, and what actually constitutes a successful partnership often comes down to the individuals involved. However, a review of available data suggests a number of best practices that lead to better collaboration.
Case Studies: Successful Collaborative R&D Projects
National Networks of Excellence Si Siempre in footballing circles – or so we are informed – is synonymous with the three principles of well-executed football: support, space and speed. These are also the principles on which the UK's five nascent NENE consortia have been tested. The successful NENE consortia boast not only a springboard for further work – but also lessons that all NERN consortia would do well to heed.
As experience shows, both models of national Networks of Excellence (NENE) ("classic" lead proposal and cascade) have been used with great success by the five consortia boasting 46 partners engaged in a total collaborative investment of over £20m, from the BT/EPSRC GRID consortia with 11 partners and £5m IPRI enabler funds, through SCARR with 11 partners, £4m, and the University of Manchester engagement into strap/SITPRO in the environmental field.
Although the ZEBRA partners have not officially released details of their innovation, it is known that the fuel at the heart of the project is hydrogen, and that the initiative involves buses and comes with the backing of an impressive list of partners. The hydrogen is produced at a refinery in Hythe, Hampshire, from where it is delivered to London during the night.
The hydrogen refuelling facilities at the bus depot in Walthamstow, East London, are capable of handling over 100 buses with the three-unit 1MPa system capable of refuelling all the vehicles at once. According to the partners: "When all the buses are in operation, the system pumps more than 900kg of hydrogen a day." Transport for London is supporting the ZEBRA project by enabling Shell Hydrogen to use its bus depot in Walthamstow, as part of its commitment and policy to introduce ultra-low carbon buses.
Case study: Supporting the wide-scale deployment of zero emission buses
Conclusion and Future Trends
A future trend may involve increased attention to manufacturing activities. "Developing a knowledge alliance in research infrastructure is rather common, yet bringing together a fragmented manufacturing industry is likely to be harder"; in this perspective it may be interesting to have case studies where the full cycle is shown. Another area that may deserve further attention is the way the role of the partners changes over the time and in relation to changes of the context.
A collaborative proposal therefore should have a lot of various aspects: institutional competences, real world challenges and forecasts on intellectual outputs. One of the possible repercussions of an increased commercial drive of partnerships is that more and more, partners are required to demonstrate 'added' value. For the competence-enhancing types, such 'added' value will primarily be delivered through the generation of various outputs: enhanced staff expertise, development of practices, resolution of practical problems and so on.
In contrast, the intellectual venture capitalists will expect ventures that result in explicit product development and/or increased knowledge levels. Therefore, not only will technology transfer, policy, procedures and portfolios become more systematic, but also IP will not be so much 'monetized' as given away, or shared openly under this framework.
This essay has shown various aspects of collaboration for R&D. We argued that collaboration is now a serious part of the R&D process. We noted that collaborative research could also be a channel for the sharing of risks and profits. We claimed that collaborating in research activities was a way to leverage on competences and knowledge that are different from one another, mentalizing collaborative projects as vehicles for innovation.