Design and innovation as a `broking´ process: using IT effectively in R&D management

Summary form only given. This paper helps to assess the scope for information technology to benefit R&D management, taking into account industry trends towards networking, the formation of virtual organisations and the implications of these trends for design processes. A challenge presented in the paper is to learn how to move from an IT strategy based on the current (traditional) perception of R&D management to a strategy based on a new (future) perception of R&D management. It is suggested that the future perception of R&D management needs to be formed around the requirements of innovation networks and not just around the requirements of a single enterprise. The aim of the paper is to stimulate thinking about the ways in which R&D management is changing and how the direction of change might need to be influenced. The paper also helps to consider how IT can be used effectively, either to support future practices or to influence their evolution