For the last 12 months, Manifold has been working with Valens Research on a proprietary methodology that provides an apples-to-apples comparison of how much firms spend on R&D and innovation and whether or not it creates economic value. We evaluated the financial data of over 10,000 companies, normalized using uniform accounting principles.

The result is what we're calling the Growth Innovators Matrix, an instrument that quickly can show how an industry (and the companies within it) are doing in terms of investing in growth-based innovation, and their ability to turn that investment into value.

The matrix can help teams see how they stack up relative to peer organizations. And for individuals looking to make the case for increasing R&D investment, we believe the matrix can help draw a direct line between investment and potential impact.

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Some of the most interesting findings from the study:

• Growth Innovators have roughly 2x higher valuation/asset multiples than the average across all companies.   
• 17% of companies across industries are Growth Innovators.
• Growth Innovators are represented across industries, although unsurprisingly some industries have a disproportionate share.

The report outlines how we arrived at the placement of companies within each quadrant, and provides suggestions on how organizations can move from one quadrant to another.

P.S. Check out the end of this report to find out how to get a Custom Growth Innovator’s Matrix for your industry free of charge.