THE CASE:

Our objective was to help our client form strategic alliances in the area of cosmetics with the best in the field of research and development, in order to facilitate an ambitious development plan. At a first stage, this project entailed an adequate definition of the state-of-the-art technologies, processes and methodologies in this specific area, after gathering data from various sources, such as review of the relevant academic literature, assessment of technical documents and reports, expert opinions and patent searches. Based on the above knowledge, we developed a roadmap of the issues to be tackled and the fields to be investigated, which served as a guide for the identification of all attractive key players and technology suppliers (including companies, universities, research institutes, scientists, formulators etc.), who fulfilled the requirements for a future collaboration. Finally, we assisted our client in the evaluation of these key players, taking into account each organization’s capacity, level of expertise, as well as their adequacy to operate within an open innovation model.