Struggling to make progress in your R&D work?
Feeling stuck in your research and development? Try these tips to jumpstart progress:
What strategies have helped you push through R&D challenges?
Struggling to make progress in your R&D work?
Feeling stuck in your research and development? Try these tips to jumpstart progress:
What strategies have helped you push through R&D challenges?
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After 3 decades of experience in research and development, one important thing what I understood is getting solutions through R&D functions is unpredictable. Once, our team took up a project of isolating a xanthophyll from a plant which took more than 3 months without much progress. Product was concentrated, but could not be crystallised. One evening just before leaving the lab for the day, one of our team members casually changed the solvent for crystallisation. He got a glittering crystals settling at the bottom. Similarly, a phytocompound which was proposed to be isolated from a plant. On going through papers published on previous works, we realised that the project would ake appr 3 - 4 months. But, we got the solution on third day!!
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Start by diagnosing the root causes of the problem, such as flawed assumptions, resource gaps, or technical hurdles, and seek feedback for fresh perspectives. Break down objectives into smaller, achievable milestones and focus on quick wins to build momentum. Collaborate with external partners like academia or startups, and explore outsourcing to tackle specific challenges efficiently. Use advanced tools like machine learning, or rapid prototyping to enhance problem-solving and experimentation. Host hackathons, studying other industries, and temporarily shifting focus to allow ideas to incubate. Maintain motivation by celebrating progress, fostering a resilient team culture, and learning from both failures and successes.
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𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐲 🤯 Science isn’t quiet. It’s full of explosions, crashes, and experiments that seem to hate you and have decided to fail in a perfect chain reaction. Machines rebel, data disappears, and the chaos feels endless. But here’s the truth: 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝘁 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮: 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. They make your team tougher, sharper, and ready to face the next blast. So, breathe, reload your illusion, turn up the music, and dance through the chaos🎶. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟒 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, and tomorrow is your chance to aim higher and break the cycle. 🚀 How do you and your team keep going when the lab feels like a battlefield?
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If you’re a leader of an R&D org and things aren’t progressing, it’s worth taking a step back and objectively evaluating whether you’re fostering a culture that encourages good R&D behaviors. Over time, it’s easy for R&D to become routine and robotic rather than curious, innovative, and open to experimentation. It’s possible you may be contributing to that by discouraging risk and focusing more on “getting things done” rather than establishing outcomes and pushing your teams to discover creative pathways to get there. Don’t operate off the assumption that because the work in your function is related to R&D, the way work is getting done is optimized for that. You may actually be the reason things are sticking with the “status quo.”
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To have success in R & D we need to have patience, experience, expertise clear goals, knowledge and teamwork. We will not get success in very first trial sometimes but that failure is the learning to understand more about project requirements . Whenever there are obstacles in r and D project we should re evaluate the project .prioritise task and share responsibilities among team members based on their expertise.
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Science R&D got you stuck? Try these quick moves: 1️⃣ Refocus your goals—are you chasing the right questions? 2️⃣ Bring in new voices—cross-disciplinary input can spark fresh ideas. 3️⃣ Embrace “failures” as lessons—they highlight what works and what doesn’t. 4️⃣ Test small changes first—rapid iteration beats endless tinkering. 5️⃣ Celebrate progress—small wins keep the momentum alive. Keep experimenting, stay curious, and let each setback pave the way to discovery!
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Demasiada simplista la aproximación. Para aconsejar hay que tener mas datos de la situación. Tiempo sin que salga lo esperado, experiencia del equipo, financiación del proyecto, objetivos simplistas o complejos, competencia en el tema y situación de esta. Datos que puedan orientar a fabricar una respuesta útil. Lo de priorizar los objetivos alineados con las capacidades es más que difícil si el tema no va bien. si la causa son los objetivos, el asunto viene mal enfocado desde el principio. Si son las capacidades, cambiar el equipo rápidamente y cumplir los tiempos es complejo. Colaborar con otros, encontrar quien te solucione tus irresolubles problemas, complicado, ¿no? En resumen, pregunta inespecífica con respuesta de dudosa utilidad
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To overcome challenges in R&D we need to define Clear Objectives first as to step in establishing KPIs for R&D activities is to define clear and measurable objectives. Identify Key Result Areas for selection Relevant Metrics to set Realistic Targets or establish Tracking & Reporting Mechanisms tof oster a Culture of Continuous Improvement. Micromanagement, lack of autonomy, ambiguous objectives, and promoting a siloed work environment can stifle the productivity of the R&D process.
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Throughout my over 15 years of experience in R & D i can say that there are several reasons that people struggle in R & D like lack of clear goals , insufficient resources , lack of clear communication, incomplete feedback and technical challenges. To overcome this need to set clear goals , priorities the projects , have clear communication with team members. Allocate resources on priority basis , secure additional resources, ask for more funds , equipment and personnel. Improve communication with team members . Update plans and consult with seniors or mentors .
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Turning Challenges into Opportunities Throughout my career, I’ve turned R&D challenges into growth opportunities: • Embracing Failure: Data inconsistencies in evaluations led to refining collection methods for better reliability. • Fostering Collaboration: In the PROSPECTS Partnership with ILO, I aligned stakeholders to create effective employment solutions. • Reevaluating Goals: With Plan International, focusing on critical needs achieved sustainable results. • Ensuring Accountability: In TEPS with USAID, I implemented monitoring frameworks ensuring transparency. • Adapting to Evolving Needs: Feedback-driven adjustments made training programs more relevant and impactful. These strategies turned challenges into success.
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