About Us
Innovation leadership without boundaries.
For more than 85 years, Innovation Research Interchange has been the place where the people who lead corporate innovation come to learn from one another. We’re a member community of R&D and innovation leaders who share what’s working, pressure-test what’s next, and advance the practice of innovation management together—as part of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Who We Are
Innovation Research Interchange (IRI) is a membership organization for innovation and R&D leaders across manufacturers, federally funded laboratories, and research-driven institutions. Our members convene in a neutral, noncompetitive setting to exchange best and next practices, build their teams’ capabilities, and shape the future of how innovation gets done.
Some of the field’s most widely adopted frameworks—open innovation, the front end of innovation, and stage-gate—were born from the work of our members. That’s the heart of IRI: practitioners solving the hard problems of innovation together, then giving the field a common language to build on.
IRI is a division of the National Association of Manufacturers, the largest manufacturing association in the United States.
What Makes IRI Different
We’re not a vendor, a conference company, or a technical society. We’re a peer community.
- A room without competitors or sales pitches. IRI convenes innovation leaders in an experimental, noncompetitive, and noncommercial environment. Members speak candidly because everyone is there to learn, not to sell.
- Peers who do your job. Our members lead innovation, R&D, and technology functions at their organizations. The advice you get comes from people facing the same decisions you are.
- Practice that becomes the standard. The frameworks and benchmarks our members develop don’t stay in the room—they shape how the broader field manages innovation.
What We Do
Connect
A community of innovation leaders who exchange best and next practices through member networks, working groups, councils, and our annual gathering.
Develop
Professional development that builds individual and team capability: bootcamps, virtual workshops, the Applied Innovation Certificates Program, and on-demand learning.
Inform
Research, benchmarks, and strategic insight—including Research-Technology Management, our Innovation Growth Drivers, and trend analysis—to help leaders see what’s coming and act on it.
Who Belongs Here
IRI members are organizations whose core work is creating, producing, and bringing to market products or services built on technological innovation—alongside federal laboratories engaged in research, design, and technical support. If your organization lives or dies by its ability to innovate, you’ll find your peers here.
Our History
IRI was founded in 1938 under the auspices of the National Research Council, when Maurice Holland, then director of the NRC’s Division of Engineering, brought together roughly 50 representatives from industry, government, and universities in New York City. From the start, the founders wanted something different from a typical technical society—an association of research directors whose value came from the personal connections among its members. That principle still defines IRI today.
Fourteen companies made up the original membership. Two of them remain members: Colgate-Palmolive Company and UOP, LLC (formerly Universal Oil Products, now part of Honeywell).
A few milestones along the way:
- 1938—Founded under the National Research Council; first meeting held February 25 in New York City.
- 1945—Separated from the NRC to become an independent nonprofit membership corporation, while continuing its association with the Council.
- 2013—Celebrated 75 years of member contributions to R&D and innovation.
- 2018—Adopted the name Innovation Research Interchange, reflecting a broader focus across the full range of innovation professionals.
- 2022—Combined with the National Association of Manufacturers, joining NAM’s array of services for manufacturers.
Innovate as many, succeed as one.
Join a community of innovation leaders advancing the practice—and their own organizations—together.
Questions? Contact information@iriweb.org or call (703) 647-2580.
