Research and Development: Related but Not the Same
I have been doing academic research for about eight (8) years now. That is not much compared to the other leaders in the field who have been at it for their entire professional careers. I would consider myself a starter in this respect. At the same time, I have been doing corporate research and development for about five (5) years now. Of course, in the Philippines, this is not a full time job. But, I can safely assume that at least 10-20% of my working time is spent on some aspect of research and development.
I can definitely say that academic research and corporate R&D are two different creatures. The projects I work on in my academic research side are typically very specialized and are not typically marketable in the near term. The academic project I choose are those that have particular interest to me and my students personally. Marketability is the last thing on our minds. On the other hand, corporate R&D focuses more on the development side of things. Therefore, marketability and the ability to productize what we work on is the main order of the day. So what really is the difference?
Here are some interesting web definitions of the phrase “research and development“:
Comprises creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge and the use of this knowledge to devise new applications. Research and development is a component of the broader innovation process. - QLD
Research is an activity aimed at discovering new knowledge in hopes that such activity will be useful in creating a new product, process, or service, or improving a present product, process, or service. Development is the translation of research findings or other knowledge into a new or improved product, process, or service. - GCSAA
It is interesting to note that second definition clearly breaks down the difference between research and development. Research as primarily focused on discovering knowledge. Development focused on translating research into an improved product, process or service. Both are equally important. In the academe, it is mostly the research side with some development along the way. In the corporate world, it is research targeted to ensure that development can occur afterwards. So for all research and development shops in the Philippines, are you more research or more development? For some of you folk who want to focus on development, you might want to consider Industry-Academe partnerships for R&D.
