The Resurgent Innovation Imperative in a Post-Pandemic World
Despite economic uncertainty, innovation ambitions continue to rise
For Wellspring’s fourth-annual R&D and innovation study, we surveyed hundreds of corporate leaders and interviewed dozens more. On top of the usual questions, we specifically wanted to understand the contours of “new normal”. Had the pandemic left a permanent mark on R&D and innovation teams? Would supply chain and inflation temper firms’ ambitions? Would innovation budgets continue rising, or get stuck in limbo?
What we found was both striking and unexpected. The mission of modern R&D and innovation teams is changing. Their activities are better structured and funded. Their mandate is broader and more strategic. And they are being held to account more explicitly. Despite lingering concerns around the supply chain and inflation, corporate innovation ambitions continue to rise.
