Field-Proven Approaches for
Assessing R&D Productivity

Dr. Baruch Lev, Professor, New York University, Stern School of Business, Director of the Project for Research on Intangibles and author of INTANGIBLES: Management, Measurement, and Reporting

Website | CIO Magazine Interview | BusinessWeek Article

Research and development (R&D) operations are the most promising, and at the same time the riskiest of corporate activities. Therefore, it is not surprising that investors generally view R&D with suspicion and managers often reject promising R&D projects.

The key to adequate funding of R&D activities and maintaining favorable investors’ perceptions of corporate innovations is the capacity to quantify the quality of the firm’s technological capabilities and the prospects of its R&D projects. This, of course, is not an exact science, but Dr. Lev will discuss various field-proven approaches for the assessment of R&D prospects, and the effective communication of these assessments to outsiders (managers, investors). Prominent among these approaches are the estimation of the return on R&D (ROI of R&D), the assessment of technological capabilities from patents and royalties, and the development of an innovation scorecard.

"Great speaker – very relevant – topics change how I will view and value intangibles." Peter Oleske, Armstrong World Industries

"Excellent content – able presentation. Clearly well researched and composed. Exquisitely profound in simplicity." Dubravka Opuhac, Bayer Diagnostics

ABOUT BARUCH LEV
Frequently cited and published in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune and more, Baruch Lev is the Philip Bardes Professor of Accounting and Finance at New York University, Stern School of Business, the Director of the Vincent C. Ross Institute for Accounting Research and the Project for Research on Intangibles. Professor Lev's research spans three books and about 75 research studies published in the leading accounting, finance and economic journals. This research concerns the optimal use of information in investment decisions; business valuation issues; corporate governance; and recently intangible investments (intellectual capital). In particular, the measurement, valuation and reporting issues concerning intangible investments. He lectures internationally and works closely with such institutions as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, OECD, the European Union, and the Brookings Institution.

Waterfalling Corporate Objectives to Turbocharge R&D Performance and Increase Bottom-Line Results

Joseph B. Havrilla, Senior Vice President, New Product Development, Medrad, Inc.

Companies are most effective when the mission, strategies, budgets, objectives and incentive systems are linked and aligned. At Medrad, Inc., a metrics based Corporate Scorecard linked back to the company's mission and philosophy drives the annual corporate objectives and variable reward systems. This grounds the annual objectives with the company's culture and drives organizational alignment.

Mr. Havrilla will discuss Medrad's successful deployment of its Corporate Scorecard as well as its use of an integrated Corporate Priority List to waterfall forward annual operational initiatives (both development projects and organizational improvement efforts). This process enables the entire organization to focus on the critical few and allocate limited resources to projects that lead to bottom line growth and initiatives that drive organizational improvement.

By attending this session, you will learn:

• how to develop and deploy a corporate scorecard and remove organizational barriers to buy-in

• strategies to effectively cascade corporate objectives throughout your organization

• how to ensure that scarce resources are focused on projects that are in line with strategic objectives and have the greatest potential for payback

ABOUT JOSEPH HAVRILLA
Joe Havrilla directs Medrad’s product research and development activities, in addition to managing the company’s intellectual property portfolio. He joined Medrad in 1983 as a Senior Research Engineer. Today he manages a staff of over 100 engineers and scientists, dedicated to preserving Medrad’s product leadership in the competitive healthcare industry. He personally holds 12 medical device patents.

He has an MBA in Product Development and Operations Management from Southern Methodist University, where he graduated with honors in 1981, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (1977) from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Key Metrics for Effective Portfolio Management

Dr. Scott Edgett, CEO and Co-Founder, Product Development Institute

Dr. Edgett will discuss the key metrics that companies are using to more effectively manage their portfolios. Recent benchmarking data will be explored to determine how top performers are succeeding and outpacing their competitors.

This presentation will examine:

• The high performance diamond – the four key drivers of success needed to achieve high performance results in your company

• What metrics are commonly being used to measure individual project performance as well as business unit NPD program performance – new data on the results of these metrics

• New product performance measures and the results achieved by top performing companies including: how low and high performers compare on standard business metrics; what high performers are spending on different types of innovation (i.e. product improvements versus breakthrough new products)

• Challenges in establishing effective metrics – examining the "dark side of metrics"; what makes a good metric? Balancing hard versus soft data and quantitative versus qualitative; how to ensure that your metrics initiatives don’t have a negative impact on overall company performance

ABOUT DR. SCOTT EDGETT
Dr. Scott J. Edgett is an internationally recognized expert in the field of new product development and portfolio management. He is CEO and co-founder of the Product Development Institute, Ontario, Canada. Scott is a noted speaker and consultant having conducted executive seminars and consulting projects in United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Japan. Some of his recent clients include ABB, Alcan, American Express, Barclays Bank, Clorox, Delta Airlines, Dianippon Ink & Chemical, Diageo, Dofasco, Domtar, DowElanco, Gennum, Hallmark, Hollister, Hydro-Quebec, ICI, ITT, Kelloggs, Kennametal, Life Technologies, Manulife Financial, Masterfoods, The Mutual Group, Nova Chemicals, PECO Energy, Pennzoil-Quaker Oil, Pepsico, Roche, Rohm & Haas, The Royal Bank of Canada, R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical, State Farm, Sun Life Assurance, Toray, U.S. Filter, Warner Lambert, W.R. Grace and Xerox. He has published more than 60 articles and papers, including the "Best Practices" series. He has also co-authored five books. His latest are entitled Portfolio Management for New Products 2^nd Edition and Product Development for the Service Sector. Scott holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, an MBA in Marketing/ Finance and a Ph.D. in Marketing (New Product Development). Scott can be contacted at 905-648-0095, or edgett@prod-dev.com