In 2026, a Gartner survey of more than 100 R&D leaders revealed a landscape of shrinking budgets, high growth expectations and waning confidence in their ability to deliver on CEO priorities. To successfully navigate 2026, R&D leaders must address the following strategic imperatives and associated challenges.
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Strategic imperatives:
1
Enable long-term growth.
2
Smartly optimize costs.
3
Unlock AI’s impact on innovation.
PRIORITY 1
Enable long-term growth
The top priority for CEOs in 2026 is growth, yet R&D leaders face significant internal friction in delivering it. Approximately 69% of R&D leaders feel pressured to prioritize short-term over long-term innovation investments. This creates portfolio gridlock, where only 3% of resources are being reallocated to more promising transformational projects. Furthermore, R&D leaders struggle to maintain influence at the executive table. Consequently, R&D portfolios often lag in health, failing to align sufficient high-value projects with the organization’s broader strategy.
R&D leaders must transition into the role of a “chief future officer.” This involves building continuous foresight capabilities to advocate for long-term bets and return-on-the-future projects — initiatives defined as high risk, high return and potentially controversial, but necessary for strategic differentiation.
