Using patents cluster method to facilitate open innovation from the perspective of project portfolio management

Nowadays, under the circumstance of open innovation, R&D organizations of dual-coupled mode have been used in China to solve such problems existing in R&D organizations as repetition and fragmentation of institutions and research programs, low commercialization rate of scientific research results, single operating mode and the phenomenon of research lagging behind the development of industry. Such R&D organizations have become more efficient in providing public welfare, but there are still problems in defining projects and aligning them with innovation strategy and needs of the industry. This paper proposes a patents cluster method from the perspective of project portfolio management for R&D organizations running on dual-coupled mode. The patents cluster method uses intellectual property rights big data to find out the cluster of patents related to a value chain development through data mining, to identify patent owners through related patents and then acquire the related R&D teams, thus achieving the goal of configuring sectoral value chain with the innovation chain. In this research, BICI is selected as a case of R&D organization with dual coupled mode and the patents cluster method is designed and tested. The results indicate that the patents cluster method can be used in facilitating open innovation in R&D organizations running on dual-coupled mode from the perspective of project portfolio management.