The Getting of Knowledge
—a guide to funding and managing applied research.
This guide distils lessons learned about investing in and managing R&D. The focus here is on public investment in collaborative, applied R&D to develop and
implement more sustainable systems of land and water management. Many of the lessons about designing and managing an applied research portfolio in this context are likely to be equally relevant in other applied research domains.
Applied research is about much more than generating new knowledge. It is also about
enabling change, solving problems, developing
new opportunities and supporting innovation. By
definition, applied esearch is funded to achieve a
specific purpose. This implies that the knowledge
needs and consequent research questions can be
teased out — at least in broad terms — the intended
end users of research outputs identified, and
their adoption pathways mapped.
Key management issues, tools and options
are presented at the level of the whole R&D
portfolio, and also at the level of individual
research programs. Issues such as managing
risk, research quality, expertise requirements,
portfolio analysis, evaluation, financial management and
reporting are all covered from the perspective of
the research manager and investor.