Strengthening research skills to improve projects : the case of Pasteur-Mérieux-Connaught

In reply to a rapidly evolving competitive environment, Pasteur-Mérieux-Connaught has put in place a global research organisation. Whereas many companies which have a skill-based structure discover the virtues of a horizontal project structure, Pasteur-Mérieux-Connaught, whose research centres were already project orientated, chose to put in a skill-orientated organisation. This reversal in tendency contributes to the emergence of a new research management model, of which the objective is to get the benefit from the projects while still developing skills, as a result of an orchestrated management of the inter-project disciplines. The fact that the company shows good results has greatly helped the reorganisation which would have been more difficult in a time of crisis.