"The IRIMA project, as its IRMA predecessor, will serve as a reference source of economic intelligence, based on monitoring, data gathering and analysis in the field of private research and innovation. It will focus on the economic and policy analysis of patterns and trends in industrial R&D and innovation and their contribution to the competitiveness position of the EU industry by benchmarking it against main competitors, and in particular for industrial sectors of interest.Starting from the collection of Scoreboard and Survey data on R&D investment by companies, it will make use of complementary data and economic research methods (quantitative economic techniques in particular, such as econometrics, economic modelling, input-output matrices and panel data analysis), exploiting the existing knowledge on research and innovation and developing new insights. A closer link to the policy agenda will be established through a new focus on preparation of policy briefs and reports accessible to a policy audience, aimed at promoting and informing policy debate.The core activities of the IRIMA project will include:1. The monitoring and analysis of top corporate R&D investors (WP1), based on rigorous data collection from companies accounts and an annual survey .2. The elaboration of analytical reports and policy briefs on specific topics connected to the implementation of the European research and innovation agenda (WP2).3. Activities to disseminate the project's research results (WP3) among the main stakeholders (researchers, policy makers and industry representatives) and to discuss its policy implications and follow-up.The research will be mainly undertaken on the basis of already available sources of data, public and commercial. In this respect, closer cooperation with Eurostat, OECD and national statistical offices shall be pursued. In some cases, the outsourcing of targeted data gathering exercises might be needed."