Vision for INORMS 2023 | Programme:

The vision for INORMS 2023 is to stimulate a more connected community where research and innovation managers cross the divide and connect on a level that inspires greater synergy and cooperation at the outset, to make research and innovation more globally relevant, collaborative and impactful.

There will be at least five sub-themes. Each of these will be the subject of a plenary session, and form the underlying context of the five anticipated parallel sessions of the congress.

i) The current state of research and innovation management: Evaluation and benchmarking on global, national and local scales, through exercises such as RAAAP, are important in the understanding of our starting point in the journey to success. A global event such a INORMS 2023 will provide an opportunity to examine schisms, trends and similarities through evidence based investigations. How else can we set a course towards the utopian state without knowing where each begins the journey?

ii) Emerging trends in research and innovation management: Given pressures of globalization accelerated by social media and competition for limited resources in an ever changing environment that promises radical changes such as artificial intelligence and the 4th industrial revolution, are the relatively new professions of research and innovation management developing new trends? What are these new trends? Do they offer benefits to the knowledge economy? These and related questions will be discussed from a variety of contextual lenses.

iii) Funding responsible research and innovation for global impact: Should the advancement of knowledge be driven by money?  Probably not, but the professions of research and innovation management are too pragmatic to debate the philosophy.  Rather we strive to be more effective in securing funding in increasingly difficult circumstances. However, this may be our biggest blind spot, and a more considered approach may yield greater impact.  Moreover, our task is to ensure that research and innovation positively affect our planet and improve lives. In the quest for funding and prestige, new challenges are emerging in the area of promoting responsible research and innovation. How do we ensure the integrity of research and innovation globally?

iv) Measuring research and innovation impact: We will never know what difference we are making, especially across the continuum from research to innovation management, if we cannot objectively and meaningfully measure impact.  What are the latest views on how impact is measured? Do the same measurement tools work in both research and innovation management disciplines? Does success look the same all along the continuum?

v) Professionalization and capacity development in research and innovation management: Given the diversity of people, professions and environments can professional standard ever be transferable? Should the utopia we seek in research and innovation management include a set of global standards? This may stimulate development in some areas but dampening in others, or is that a justified prize to pay for uniformity?