This paper presents the initial findings from a study on the innovation process in the research consortia funded by NEDO (the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization). It is based on a collaborative research project between Hitotsubashi University and NEDO. The major findings are as follow: First, NEDO supports technology areas with high science linkage, and the R&D intensity of the firms participating in NEDO projects tends to be high. Second, university and public research institutions are important collaborators in the research consortia. Vertical collaborations are much more important than horizontal collaborations. NEDO projects often involve co-inventions and co-applications for patents and the existence of a core research organization in a consortium promotes collaborative research and the sharing of patented technology and knowhow. The core research organization is more likely to be established for the research consortium among competitors, relative to a vertical research consortium. Third, while a large majority of the projects have the status of being commissioned by the NEDO (rather the grantees), the participating firms bear around a half of the project costs, except for the projects which start from the scratch (basic research). The probability that the project would not have been undertaken without the support form NEDO increases for the projects having a core research organization, indicating higher value-added of government funding for such projects.
