Background

As our clients’ different brands joined together in a unified R&D organisation, a strategy was required to set the direction and ensure that the inherent efficiency in the new organisation could be fully realised.

We, a team of three consultants from Influence, were tasked with assisting the newly appointed head of strategic planning in developing a strategy for the R&D organisation.

It was of great importance to ensure representation and continuous anchoring throughout the process. Our guiding principle was “strategy with the organisation, not for the organisation”.

When we came on board, the relatively small, already existing strategy function had defined an initial framework for a strategy framework, comprising the strategic vision as well as an idea for three strategic objectives. These strategic objectives were derived from the strategic pillars in the overarching strategy. A small group of stakeholders had been engaged to confirm that this was a good foundation upon which to build the R&D Strategy. The idea was to structure our work into three workstreams that corresponded to these three objectives.

What we did

In this project, we aimed to shape the future of the R&D organisation by engaging stakeholders across brands and business units. We began by identifying and mapping stakeholders into three distinct workstreams, ensuring balanced representation from all brands and various areas within the R&D organisation.

Next, we developed an interview template focused on envisioning the ideal future state of R&D. Using this, we conducted in-depth interviews with approximately 40 selected stakeholders. Insights from these interviews guided the creation of three hypothetical strategic objectives per workstream—nine in total—designed to reflect stakeholder aspirations while aligning with the overarching strategy.

To validate and refine these objectives, we held a workshop with 40 managers. Their feedback helped us adjust the strategic objectives to better reflect organisational needs. We then structured a digital collaborative workspace, preparing interactive workshops for each workstream. These three-hour sessions explored how each strategic objective could be realised, the expected effects, strengths to leverage, challenges to overcome, and critical choices to make. We also introduced “trigger material” to guide discussions. Our role was to facilitate, ensure progress, and maintain inclusive dialogue.

Post-workshop, we analysed participant input by clustering this input to identify patterns. This led to a second round of two-hour follow-up workshops for each workstream, where we discussed effect targets, qualitative goals, and initiatives. A joint prioritisation exercise helped refine the initiatives. The final output was a structured set of objectives, each mapped to relevant targets and initiatives.

Result

The outcome was a unified R&D Strategy, designed to build capabilities and capacities for superior innovation and value creation across all brands and business units. The strategy sets a clear direction for the organisation, focusing on developing competencies, ways of working, and resource allocation rather than specific solutions. It is anchored in three strategic pillars. Each pillar includes objectives, targets, and key initiatives. The strategy ensures that R&D efforts are aligned with the overarching vision, balancing global and local needs, and preparing for future challenges.

In addition, we anchored the strategy continuously with key stakeholders in the organisation throughout the process.