siliconindia | | July 20189Project Basis: Disadvantages· Transactional in nature· EfficiencyInstitutional Tie-ups: Advantages· Works like an extended lab/dedicated center for research· Instruments facilities get widened· Intellectual Property Issues, licensing negotiations can be sorted-out on one time basis at institute/partner level· One source of funding may enable different divisions/groups to engage with instituteInstitutional Tie-ups: Disadvantages· Specific domain based expertise may not be with institute· Funding volume needs to be substantial · Conflict of Interest since research institute/university/partner will work parallel with competitorsTheme: Advantages· Best in the field can be tapped-in· Cost effective and chances of success become moreTheme: Disadvantages· Engagement needs to be setup afresh every time· Geography may be a barrierConsortia: Advantages · Helps to take big initiatives and risky projects because risk is distributed· Government fundingConsortia: Disadvantages · IP is shared with the multiple partners· Project/Program Management own-ership competitors are involvedCustomer: Advantages· No need for customers' scouting for developed technology· Expertise and facilities of both the parties are utilized· Deep insights about the market· Strengthens relationships with cus-tomers and build-in confidence· R&D investments can be distributedCustomer: Disadvantages· Exclusive commercialization may be an issue· ConfidentialityChair Professors: Advantages· Build company branding and rela tionship with respective institutes and act as an interface between insti tute and company to foster a research area of company's and industry's long term interests.Chair Professors: Disadvantages· Formal R&D programme may be missing· Technology transfer is seen on lesser sideThere is little doubt that technolog-ical world would embrace open inno-vation more & more, however, at the same time, it calls for systematic ap-proach at organization level to increase the success rate. Each partner involved in research collaboration (be it a com-pany or a research institute) has their own set of organizational values and objectives and hence, alignment of the overall objective for a particular activ-ity is very crucial. Intellectual property management, cultural differences and varying objectives of the collaborative partners are some of the challenging issues which need to be looked into and managed diligently to create val-ue proposition for each partner effec-tively. It is of paramount importance to understand why we are going for col-laborative research (collaboration vs. doing on your own), what are drivers (is it cost, expertise or a different con-text) so that organizational strategy can be aligned accordingly. There would be always core areas, which each organi-zation would want to enrich and keep closer to their chest to have exclusivity. Long terms research projects inher-ently would involve greater amount of know-how, uncertainty in terms of out-put and hence, it becomes imperative to develop mutual trust among partners for sustainable long term relationship. Also, a successful open innovation pro-gram in R&D call for evaluating ex-ternal capabilities and conducting due diligence of collaborators exhaustively and hence, technology scouting capa-bility needs to be built within organiza-tion. Open innovation in R&D should not be seen as R&D outsourcing; rather it is strategic in nature and value cre-ation is much more than just cost and time savings. Given the interplay of diverse technologies such 3D printing, deep learning, AI, Blockchain, the col-laborative research approach among different layers will be key to succeed and win the game.The capability to identify, absorb and integrate external strategic techni-cal knowledge is new essential in orga-nizational innovation ecosystem. The days of innovating and researching in isolation are largely over in most of the industries. Open innovation in R&D should not be seen as R&D outsourcing; rather it is strategic in nature and value creation is much more than just cost and time savings
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