Does Your Company’s R&D Portfolio Match its Growth Ambitions?

Many companies create bold growth strategies fueled by innovations. However, the mix of funded R&D projects does not always match the scale of the ambition. Safe, predictable product line improvements win even when the strategy calls for a reallocation of investment to fund innovation.

One way to improve the odds is to master the discipline of innovation portfolio management so that your resources follow your priorities.

Innovation portfolio management is the ability to plan, align, and optimize R&D investment. It is the primary link between innovation strategy and project execution, providing corporate and business unit leaders with the insight, analytics, and visibility to improve decision making for funding the right mix of projects across all growth horizons.

In the Fall of 2020, we conducted a study to assess the state of innovation portfolio management across different industries (technology, financial services, life sciences, CPG, and others). The participants, including CEOs and business unit leaders, were asked to share how portfolio management was practiced in their companies. Our objective was to isolate successful portfolio management practices that enable growth through innovation. Those that separate top performing companies from average performers.

We examined four key elements of the innovation portfolio management discipline:

• Leadership’s role
• Portfolio structure and governance
• Portfolio review effectiveness
• Portfolio data and tools

Want to see how your company measures up?

Download the full report The State of Innovation Portfolio Management Annual Report—March 2021.

Video Analysis

Mike Tushman, Professor at Harvard Business School and Co-Founder of Changelogic discusses the latest report “The State of Innovation Portfolio Management.” During the conversation, the importance of Innovation Portfolio Management and why this study is such a big deal for companies today is discussed.