While definitions of R&D spending need some interpretation, current trends are important for strategy makers and boards.  Assessments by Battelle for the 2008 Global R&D Report indicate:

1. That worldwide, R&D spending will eclipse the $1.2 trillion mark in 2008, roughly 2.1% of GDP.
2. That nearly 41% of that spent will be in Asia, compared to 33% in the Americas and 24% in Europe.
3. That joint and collaborative R&D programs are on the rise in substantive ways – shifting funds and practices.

This third point on collaborative R&D programs is perhaps the subject of greatest concern for strategic leadership and management.  Overall, R&D effort is balanced in terms of resources, industry patterns, technology, human capital, political and economic issues, global forces in general, infotech and the growth intentions of large companies.  Where R&D activity takes place in university, government and individual venues, and under joint project management aegis, collaboration is a driving issue as well. 

The caliber of strategic R&D collaboration will surely make a mark on the nature and pace of innovation, and the manner of strategic and economic value creation in the coming years.  How broader R&D collaboration is managed in a context will likely involve more open business models and will reset the nature of innovation and productivity metrics for R&D programs.