Every research and development (R&D) project requires a strong strategy to make sure your plans run smoothly and you reach your goals. But how do you create this strategy?
In this article, discover the importance of having a solid R&D strategy as well as the steps involved in developing a robust strategy.
The difference between an innovation strategy and R&D strategy
Although both strategies often work hand in hand, they both have different purposes. An innovation strategy lays out an organisation’s innovation goals and how they will meet them. An R&D strategy, however, sets out any plans to develop existing processes, services, or products to either meet those innovation goals or to generally improve them.
In other words, an innovation strategy works out how to add value to your business and an R&D strategy improves what you already have.
What does an R&D strategy look like?
An R&D strategy is a clear set of objectives that will explain how your business plans to grow and prioritises which projects need to be carried out to reach those goals. A strong R&D strategy should allow anyone involved in the project to understand what the business plans to do.
Steps involved in developing a R&D strategy
Follow these 4 simple steps to help you create a strong R&D strategy for your business.
Step #1 – Analyse your company’s products, services and processes
Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your products, services and processes will help you work out what you need to do to innovate and how you should prioritise your projects.
Step #2 – Create a plan
Once you’ve identified the work you need to do and in which order, you can create a plan to understand how you will make improvements, how long those improvements will take, and how you plan to report and measure success.
Step #3 – Decide if you should outsource your projects
You will also need to establish whether you have the resources in-house to meet your objectives. If not, you need to decide whether to look for additional resources and hire a dedicated R&D team, or whether you’re going to outsource the work to a third party.
Step #4 – Test and update
An R&D strategy should be a working document; it should be constantly updated to make improvements as you complete projects and keep your strategy relevant.
Claim R&D tax credits across different sectors
At Ayming, we work with businesses across a range of different sectors to help them identify any R&D tax credits they can claim. Use the links below to discover how we can support the following industries:
- Construction and civil engineering
- Energy
- Financial services
- Food and beverage
- Life sciences, pharma and biotech
- Manufacturing
- Process engineering
- Technology
How Ayming can help
Our clients in the UK have received a collective amount of over £600 million worth of R&D tax credits. Our specialist team are not only experts in R&D tax credits, but they are also experts in a variety of different industries, so they can help you get the most out of your R&D claims.
Speak to our experts to start your claim today.