The term research, development and innovation (usually abbreviated R+D+i or R+D+I) refers to a concept that recently appeared in the context of science, technology and society studies, as an attempt to overcome the previous concept of research and development (R&D).

While development is a term from the world of economics, research and innovation come respectively from the world of science and technology, and their dynamic relationship is found in the context of the differentiation between pure science and applied science; any of them are of complex definition.

In the context of R&D&i, the University of León defines "research" as an original and planned inquiry whose objective is to discover new knowledge and achieve greater understanding in the scientific and technological field, and "innovation" as an activity whose result is technological advancement in the creation or substantive improvement of products or production processes[1]​ On the other hand, Esko Aho defines "research" as "investing money to obtain knowledge", as opposed to "innovation", which defines it as "invest knowledge to obtain money", which expresses the feedback phenomenon that occurs with a successful R&D&i strategy.[2]​.

The level of R&D&I activity in a country can be calculated by the proportion between R&D&I spending and gross domestic product (GDP), breaking down spending into public spending and private spending (tax deductions for R&D&I).[3]​.

All countries try, to the extent of their possibilities, to promote activities linked to R&D&I through support policies (subsidies, deductions, subsidized loans and others), because a high level of R&D&I implies a greater strength of the products or processes that are positively differentiated from those of their competition "Competition (economy)"). Furthermore, many of the activities are potentially generating social advances in the form of quality of life, improvement of the environment, health, etc. To support these activities there is a set of UNE standards: the UNE 166000 series, which includes the UNE 166001 standard, aimed at R&D&I projects, UNE 166002 on R&D&I management system requirements and UNE 166006 relating to requirements on the technological surveillance system.