RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT OCTOBER 2019
bridges between the partners.
If the consultancy establishes a
comprehensive understanding of existing
equipment functionality and performance
from the start – and any constraints within the
manufacturing environment – then the journey
from conceptual design through to equipment
build and commissioning is likely to be much
more successful.
Recognise when roles and
responsibilities need to transition
Understanding where in the overall
development cycle each party is providing best
value is an important aspect of any collaborative
R&D project, and you should ensure that
everyone is aligned with when and how this
transition of roles should take place.
For example, in a recent 42 Technology
project within the food processing industry,
the consultancy’s primary role at the start
of the project was to determine whether a
new technology (where they had significant
experience from other industries) could deliver
a performance breakthrough when applied to a
specific food processing application.
Whilst the consultancy was
perfectly placed to carry out
the early technology feasibility
and process simulation work,
integrating it into the client’s
existing process equipment
needed the engineering and
manufacturing expertise of
their equipment vendor.
42 Technology remained
intimately involved throughout
but its role transitioned into
one of technical support
and design review. And in
particular providing support
during the commissioning of
the new process equipment
and verifying its performance
corresponded with predictions
from earlier simulations.
Don’t forget about IP
Most process innovation
projects are likely to create
new intellectual property, and
ownership of it needs to be
properly defined in advance.
All of the collaboration
partners should be fully
aligned with the brand owner’s
position on IP ownership, with
any resistance suggesting that
the partner may not be the
right fit for the intended work.
It is also worth clarifying
whether collaboration partners
will have access to any new IP
for their own use, perhaps for
use in non-competing areas,
but this needs to be carefully
considered especially where
such IP is planned to be
secured as trade secrets.
Some recommendations
for successful
collaborations
From our past experience in
collaborative process R&D
projects, here are some of our
primary recommendations
to ensure the best chance of
achieving successful outcomes:
● Think ahead on exactly
what skills are going to be
needed throughout the project
lifecycle, which organisations
are best placed to deliver
them, and involve all parties
from day one so they are fully
aligned from the start.
● Take particular care when
selecting collaborative
partners to ensure good
cultural fit and alignment of
their expectations.
● Recognise how individual
partner’s roles and
responsibilities are likely
to change as the project
progresses, potentially
establishing key role change
milestones to avoid ambiguity
and misunderstanding.
● Understand each party’s
different commercial
motivations, taking them
into account in commercial
agreements and properly
addressing ownership and/
or future access to new IP
created during the project.
● Never assume that
everything is going to run
smoothly, so put appropriate
measures in place to be able
to regularly – and accurately –
monitor project status and the
smoothness and effectiveness
of interactions between the
relevant parties.
Adrian Swinburne,
head of consumer
at 42 Technology
“Collaborations can be destined to fail
if steps are not taken to ensure alignment
between the consultancy and the vendor.”
Adrian Swinburne, head of consumer, 42 Technology
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