Research, Innovation and what else...
Hi there, and welcome back to my humble blog! If you saw my first post you'll realize there's been a change in style. Not that dark anymore, we need a dose of optimism here!
In this first entry I'll try to clarify some terms that many people misunderstand in these times of fast change. If not mapping reality in all cases, it will serve as a base for putting things in the right place.
Let's start by defining Research. The word probably pops images of mad-scientist-like people wearing white coats and talking by themselves through the corridors. However the term's meaning is very simple: "the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions" (source: The New Oxford American Dictionary). Does Research require a lab? No. Does it require a scientist? Not either. Could you do it at home with the drugs below your wash basin? Yes, since the facts and new conclusions do not have to be unknown and new for everyone. Thus doing Research seems pretty simple, huh?. Many people neglects good Research because it doesn't match their pre-conceived notion of high-tech stuff being developed in cuasi-secret underground labs. Just like many others believe they're doing Research because they sit in a big lab within lots of hi-tech stuff. Did you notice the word "systematic" at the beginning of the Research definition? If you're just looking here and there, without a defined plan and perhaps some goals, it's not research, no matter how cool the stuff you look into may seem.
Now, what is that buzzword in everyone's vocabulary these days, "Innovation"? Well , innovation is "the action or process of innovating", which in turn is "making changes in something established, esp. by introducing new methods, ideas, or products" (source: The New Oxford American Dictionary). Simple, isn't it?. So, whenever you make a change to something that exists already, you are innovating. Cool huh?. In modern societies, each of us innovate every day. As Research, Innovation does not require that the changes you make or the new stuff you introduce are new to everyone in the world. If you replace your good ol' bath tub by a last-generation thermo-static tub, you're innovating (assuming, of course, it's the first one you install in your house) within the context of your own home. And bet your family will love that kind of innovation!.
In between Research and Innovation, however, lies another term, which is supposed to bridge the gap between them: "Applied Research". Did you notice that researching does not require having a pre-defined goal?. Many of the big discoveries of human kind came about just by mistake or coincidence. The researcher was looking for something else when the discovery popped up. Other researchers delve into extremely complex matters just to take the next step that gets us closer to a so-far unsolvable problem. The output of the research activity does not have to be something usable in the real world, so to say. It may be an equation or a corolary or just an analysis (like in Market Research). Applied Research however must have a pre-defined goal, and must be targeted to introducing something new in some context.
And this takes us to the conclusion of this post, which is the relationship between these three terms:
Not all the Research ends up in Innovation, neither does every Innovation come from Research. However, when this chain works it brings us the amazing advances that human kind has achieved during its relatively short life span.
In this first entry I'll try to clarify some terms that many people misunderstand in these times of fast change. If not mapping reality in all cases, it will serve as a base for putting things in the right place.
Let's start by defining Research. The word probably pops images of mad-scientist-like people wearing white coats and talking by themselves through the corridors. However the term's meaning is very simple: "the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions" (source: The New Oxford American Dictionary). Does Research require a lab? No. Does it require a scientist? Not either. Could you do it at home with the drugs below your wash basin? Yes, since the facts and new conclusions do not have to be unknown and new for everyone. Thus doing Research seems pretty simple, huh?. Many people neglects good Research because it doesn't match their pre-conceived notion of high-tech stuff being developed in cuasi-secret underground labs. Just like many others believe they're doing Research because they sit in a big lab within lots of hi-tech stuff. Did you notice the word "systematic" at the beginning of the Research definition? If you're just looking here and there, without a defined plan and perhaps some goals, it's not research, no matter how cool the stuff you look into may seem.
Now, what is that buzzword in everyone's vocabulary these days, "Innovation"? Well , innovation is "the action or process of innovating", which in turn is "making changes in something established, esp. by introducing new methods, ideas, or products" (source: The New Oxford American Dictionary). Simple, isn't it?. So, whenever you make a change to something that exists already, you are innovating. Cool huh?. In modern societies, each of us innovate every day. As Research, Innovation does not require that the changes you make or the new stuff you introduce are new to everyone in the world. If you replace your good ol' bath tub by a last-generation thermo-static tub, you're innovating (assuming, of course, it's the first one you install in your house) within the context of your own home. And bet your family will love that kind of innovation!.
In between Research and Innovation, however, lies another term, which is supposed to bridge the gap between them: "Applied Research". Did you notice that researching does not require having a pre-defined goal?. Many of the big discoveries of human kind came about just by mistake or coincidence. The researcher was looking for something else when the discovery popped up. Other researchers delve into extremely complex matters just to take the next step that gets us closer to a so-far unsolvable problem. The output of the research activity does not have to be something usable in the real world, so to say. It may be an equation or a corolary or just an analysis (like in Market Research). Applied Research however must have a pre-defined goal, and must be targeted to introducing something new in some context.
And this takes us to the conclusion of this post, which is the relationship between these three terms:
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