R&D: Foundation for Innovation

OVERVIEW:Accounting for less than 10 percent of the total a decade ago, almost 25 percent of all industrial R&D in the United States is now undertaken by companies classified as part of the service sector. Relatively new technologies—particularly information technologies—comprise a growing share of industry's R&D activities. And just as industry has become less reliant on Federal R&D support, it has greatly expanded its participation in a variety of domestic and global partnerships. At the same time, international R&D investments have become an important component of industry's overall R&D portfolio. The data indicate that even though these structural changes are well underway, there is also little sign of their slowing, for companies have recognized that successful innovation requires looking beyond the corporate lab to the latger research community.