WAITRO Summit 2024, Day 2 Breakout Session – Improving R&D Institution Performance through WAITRO Benchmarking Management

On November 14, 2024, a breakout session on "Improving R&D Institution Performance through WAITRO Benchmarking Management" was successfully held as part of the WAITRO Summit 2024. This forum brought together leaders and experts from global Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs) for in-depth discussions on practices and future developments of using benchmarking management for improving productivity, operational efficiency, and quality of their work.

The forum kick-started with a keynote presentation given by Mr. David Tveit, Executive Vice President, Energy and Climate. Danish Technological Institute (DTI). He emphasized that benchmarking management is an important tool for driving RTO innovation and continuous improvement. He also mentioned that DTI has been deeply involved in organizing and implementing the WAITRO benchmarking project, providing strong support for its progress and achieving its goals.

Ms. HANG Yucheng, Head of the Overseas Cooperation Department of the National Innovation Centre par Excellence (NICE) and a member of the WAITRO Secretariat, gave a special report on an introduction to the benchmarking initiative, goals, and outcomes of the WAITRO benchmarking project. She highlighted that benchmarking is not only a tool for improving performance but also a continuous journey of learning and improvement. She called on RTOs to focus on communication and knowledge sharing during their participation in the project, laying a foundation for cooperation and innovation among member institutions.

In the following panel discussion, moderated by Mr. David Tveit from DTI, panelists from Australia, Denmark, and the UK shared their insights and successful experiences in benchmarking management. As one of the leading persons of the WAITRO benchmarking project, Mr. Knud Erik Hilding-Hamann, Senior Expert at DTI, pointed out that benchmarking is not just a tool for data analysis and performance comparison but a long-term improvement process. He suggested that RTOs begin by addressing common challenges and use data-driven knowledge generation to tackle complex business scenarios.

Mr. Patrick Dias, Senior Business and Performance Analyst at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), shared the successful cases of using benchmarking methods to improve operational efficiency at CSIRO. He believed that despite cultural differences and development paths among institutions, significant improvements and synergies can be achieved through comparative analysis, inter-institutional communication, and collaboration.

Mr. Mike Russell, President of KUKA Systems UK and Non-Executive Director of the International Lean Six Sigma Institute (ILSSI), combined his management experience at The Welding Institute (TWI, UK) to emphasize the importance of internal communication and regular benchmarking analysis for continuous optimization, as well as sharing the achievements of Six Sigma methods in quality management.

Mr. Nick Obolensky, Founder of Agile Plus Leadership International Ltd. (UK), highlighted the unique value of benchmarking management in helping RTOs understand their strengths and weaknesses, enhance collaboration, and foster innovation through the "3C" (comparison, curiosity, context) and "5A" (aim, analyze, ask, advocate, apply) models. He urged RTOs to participate in benchmarking projects with an open mindset.

The last interactive roundtable was held with all participants’ contributions to phase II of WAITRO’s Benchmarking Project, moderated by Mr. Knud Erik from DTI. Three themes were selected: RTO services, business development, and capacity building. The participants first did role-playing, simulated the challenges that RTOs face in their actual operations, and proposed their solutions.

Participants first discussed their business development challenges and agreed that market analysis, technology roadmaps, and customer relationship management were identified as key success factors. In addition, establishing stable supply chain partnerships and flexibly adjusting business strategies were identified as practical approaches to achieving organizational goals.

Regarding capacity building, the discussion focused on the systematic development of training frameworks and the efficient utilization of internal resources. Additionally, it was suggested that skill gaps could be addressed through project-driven initiatives and benchmarking analysis.

Within RTO services, participants reached a consensus on the top challenge they face: allocating and managing funds. They explored the crucial role of "core funding" in sustaining basic operations and recommended optimizing project management and enhancing cross-institutional collaboration to improve the efficiency of fund utilization.

This breakout session provided a highly open and interactive platform for research and technology organizations to share experiences and explore collaborative opportunities. The Takehome message to the participants was that benchmarking management is not only a powerful tool for operational optimization but also a mindset that fosters inter-organizational cooperation and innovation. WAITRO will continue to advance global RTO development by driving the benchmarking management initiative, unlocking even greater potential for collective progress.

Watch the video recording: https://youtu.be/7k6fM6c-kcM?feature=shared

*Ms. ZHANG Xinyu contributed to this article as an intern with the WAITRO Secretariat