Your essential contributions to successful digital R&D
Jinfo Blog

By Robin Neidorf

Abstract

When R&D is at the heart of a business, the value of information services is surprisingly tangible. Jinfo's Director of Research shares successes clients have recently achieved. They have raised their visibility with senior stakeholders, as well as changed their conversations from transactions/costs to strategy/value.

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Consider the difference it would make to your information services if you could do these things:

• Tell a clear story of exactly how information products, services and expertise create value for R&D
• Measurably improve innovation and increase worker efficiency
• Contribute a comprehensive information strategy – licensing, workflow, user needs and business goals – right at the start of new R&D initiatives.

When I work with information teams in technical industries such as pharma, energy and manufacturing, I sense the frustration many of them feel around how difficult it is to demonstrate their value to stakeholders. 

That's why it's so rewarding to help them through the process of Value Chain analysis. 

Through Consulting on Value Chain, they develop a powerful tool for measuring – and improving – the value they contribute to R&D. Their conversations with key stakeholders become more strategic. They can make relatively small changes that result in demonstrably better results.

These are some of the transformations that Jinfo clients who recently completed Value Chain analysis have achieved so far:

• Initiate earlier, more strategic conversations with senior-level stakeholders
• Identify services with relatively low impact on business goals and create a plan for redeveloping or ending them
• Reset difficult negotiations with key information suppliers based on their definition of value
• Strengthen working partnerships with procurement, for better strategic supplier management.

But what's even more rewarding is the fundamental shift in perception and delivery of value:

• "I never before fully appreciated the role the information service plays in R&D productivity and innovation. This isn't something that benefits our department; this is something that benefits the whole of R&D." – Senior Information Analyst, energy
  
  
• "I can now sit in a meeting with my stakeholders and articulate the role information plays in their workflows. They understand our contribution to their success." – Senior Information Scientist, heavy manufacturing
  
  
• "For the first time, our head [of innovation and data science] is not talking about how we can cut costs but instead how we can build efficiencies and support innovation." – Manager of IT Research, global manufacturing.

You can learn more about our methodology here.

If this sounds like something that would be valuable to you, email me at robin.neidorf@jinfo.com. 

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