Weak but stable growth predicted for R&D

Most growth will come from new-business projects

January 3, 2013

Industrial Research Institute’s (IRI) 2012 R&D Trends Forecast predicts weak but stable R&D growth in 2013, with 89 percent of R&D managers expecting research investment to increase or remain the same and 11 percent expecting research budgets to decline. As in 2011, the largest growth will come from new-business projects, with 29 percent expecting an increase and only 11 percent anticipating a downturn. Support for existing-business projects and general support is expected to decline. Licensing requirements for 2013 will likely remain the same in terms of spending, with 74 percent not anticipating a change in the dollar value of licenses they pay for. The IRI’s Sea Change Index, which measures changing R&D trends over time, reveals a continued pull back from the extreme optimism of 2010.

Shane O’Halloran joined Food Engineering in November of 2012 as Digital/Online Editor. He graduated from Oberlin College in 2010, and worked as a copy editor and contributor to BleacherReport.com and ShesGameSports.com. He has also written feature articles on a freelance basis for publications in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. His areas of expertise include social media campaigns and website management. Shane produces daily news updates for www.foodengineeringmag.com and Food Engineering’s social media sites. In addition, Shane writes news articles for FE’s TechFlash e-newsletter and Food Engineering’s People and Industry section.