MEET YOUR COMPETITION - RESULTS FROM IRI CIMS ANNUAL RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT SURVEY FOR FY 95/

Data covering fiscal years 1992 through 1995 show a downward trend in the percent of sales due to new products for a sample of IRI companies , as well as in the investment these companies made in R&D. The declin e in R&D investment is evidenced by declining R&D intensity (the ratio of R&D spending to total sales) and in the number of people working i n R&D. Since 1992, the average number of R&D personnel in a paired amp le of IRI companies has declined by more than 10 percent. In the lates t survey, for fiscal 1995, 88 IRI companies, encompassing 163 business segments and 70 laboratories, provided quantitative data on sources o f R&D funds and allocation of R&D expenditures and personnel. These co mpanies account for about 20 percent of total U.S. industry spending o n R&D.