INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE'S R&D TRENDS FORECAST FOR 2009

The 25th Industrial Research Institute (IRI) Research and Development (R&D) Trends Forecast survey focused on expectations for industrial R&D investment in 2009. The findings of the survey were based on responses from half of the 182 IRI member companies that conducted R&D in the US. It used the Sea Change Index to calculate the potential trends in R&D in 2009. The Sea Change Index indicated that no significant change was expected in total R&D investments among IRI member companies in 2009. The index also predicted a significant reduction in capital spending in 2009, following a pattern set in 2002. The survey predicted that R&D investments supporting existing business and directed basic research were expected to decrease among IRI member companies in 2009.