Managing collaborative R&D projects development of a practical management tool

In an environment of globalisation, intense competition and rising R&D costs, collaboration has become an essential means of sustaining technological growth. However, there are many difficulties inherent in managing projects across organisational boundaries. While research has identified a range of management “success” factors, little attention has been given to how such knowledge could be applied in the everyday context of a collaborative project. Based on case studies by the authors involving the automotive and aerospace industries, this paper reports on the development of a management tool designed to provide practical guidance on the effective management of collaborative R&D projects.