ABSTRACT
Before I address why project management is essential for research and development we need to establish the significance of some key terms (viz. ‘project management’ and ‘research and development’) in the context of this book and also why research and development is so important for the sustainable growth of both businesses and the national economies contributing to human well-being. In recent years both project management and in particular research and development have witnessed major changes in the way organisations manage their technological resources. Project management is known to offer formal planning processes and the use of these formal processes in research and development may be viewed as an impediment to creativity and innovation. Hence it should be helpful to explain these key terms before analysing their roles and interdependence.
