Innovation intermediaries in the digital transformation process. A comparative case study of research and technology organisations in the US and the UK

Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) are innovation intermediaries that support knowledge transfer between science and industry, with a strong focus on applied research aiming at scaling up technologies characterised by a systemic failure in their pre-production phase. They aim to fulfil the knowledge transfer function embedded in their mission. Recently, there has been a growing literature about RTOs' role, especially in relation to how they respond to the changing innovation and production environment. In this paper, we empirically explore (i) how RTOs' activities are changing as a response to the increasing complexity of manufacturing technology systems, and with a focus on the particular case of digital manufacturing, which demands higher scope for the role of RTOs' activities; (ii) if there is any attempt to align and coordinate such activities with other intermediary actors in the ecosystem. Our analysis reveals that existing activities (mainly technology development) are evolving to respond to new challenges, and new activities are emerging as part of RTOs’ services to firms (e.g., workforce development and, to a lesser extent, supply chain development activities). RTOs face challenges in coordination with other intermediaries; targeted funding can provide the space to experiment with new forms of collaboration. • Research and Technology Organisations are expanding activities to support knowledge transfer in digital manufacturing. • To do so, they have increased their technology demonstration activities to favour the adoption of digital technologies. • Workforce development activities are key to technology adoption; they are increasingly becoming part of RTOs.-Initial findings show that RTOs collaborate with other innovation intermediaries in the ecosystem. • The role of policy is critical to promote collaborative mechanisms between different actors.