R&D spending is a hot topic right now. Not since the 1990s has such a steady and possibly increasing amount of funding been on the horizon for inventive scientists and engineers. It is a great time to be in the profession. It is a global trend.
Seven or more years of consecutive increases in R&D spending appear to be lining up in the United States, after a five-year decline from 2010-2014. (MD March 18). Our knowledge of what this consistency means is better than it was in the 1990s. Few could spot a technology boom was coming much before it actually arrived. Today, we better understand that consistent spending does make a difference. And, that the effects of uniformity apply to all companies—unless there is a deep core competency in an area of volatile spending (INSEAD). With better management science, industry will hopefully be able to nurture and sustain this portending boom period.