ReaDI-Watch is a human-governed, AI-assisted platform for managing research, development and innovation (RD&I). It brings projects, source documents, updates, reports, reviews and funding evidence into one structured system, giving teams a clear and traceable record of their work.

What problem does ReaDI-Watch solve?

RD&I activity is often spread across meetings, emails, shared drives, project tools, spreadsheets and people's memory. ReaDI-Watch gives R&D leaders and executives a live view across projects, helps technical teams capture progress as work happens, and gives finance teams an organised evidence base for reporting and funding.

Is ReaDI-Watch software or a service?

ReaDI-Watch is a software platform supported by an expert team. The platform structures projects, documentation, reviews and reporting, while guided workflows and the ReaDI Assistant help users turn existing material and short updates into useful records. Expert support is available for onboarding, configuration and embedding the process across your organisation.

How does ReaDI-Watch improve R&D tax credit and grant work?

ReaDI-Watch helps build the technical evidence throughout the year. Approved reports retain their sources, versions, authors, reviewers and approval history, so finance teams and advisers can see how each statement is supported. Financial evidence can be added through uploaded records or manually entered totals, with native time and cost capture planned as a later capability.

Will this create more admin for engineers and project teams?

ReaDI-Watch is designed to fit around how technical teams already work. Users can add short updates, notes and source documents, then use guided conversations to fill any gaps. The ReaDI Assistant can structure drafts from selected evidence, while unsupported content is flagged and each section remains under human review.

Do you replace our accountant or tax adviser?

Your accountant, tax adviser or grant consultant can continue to handle eligibility, calculations and filing. ReaDI-Watch strengthens the underlying record they rely on by providing structured project information, source traceability, approved reports and supporting evidence, reducing the effort needed to reconstruct the work later.

Will the AI just invent content, or make up things that could hurt us in an audit?

The AI is designed to work only from the evidence you provide. Each claim in a generated report must be supported by a source and linked to a citation. Where evidence is limited, the system can produce a draft, mark it as low confidence and show what information is missing.

Who actually reviews and approves what the AI writes?

Your team does. Reports are generated section by section, and each section requires human review and approval before the process continues. The AI cannot approve, publish or change content on its own. A person must sign off before anything becomes part of the official record.

Can the AI change or overwrite something we've already approved?

No. Once a section is approved, it is locked. Where an update is needed later, the system creates a new linked entry instead of changing the original record. This preserves a clear history of what was known and approved at each point in time.

Is our data and IP actually secure?

ReaDI stores, processes and runs AI inference within the EU. Each customer’s data is separated from every other customer’s data at database level through technical controls. Information is not shared across client organisations by default.

Does our data train the AI models, or get exposed to other companies through them?

No. We use AI models under enterprise agreements that exclude customer data from model training, so your IP remains yours. The AI also does not receive your organisation’s full knowledge base in one request. Documents are divided into permission-controlled sections, and the system retrieves only the information relevant to the task and the user’s access rights. This limits exposure, supports faster responses and keeps sensitive material scoped to the people and projects authorised to use it.

Does the AI replace the judgment of our engineers, scientists, or finance team?

No. The AI can structure, draft and organise information, but it does not decide whether work qualifies as R&D, make commercial decisions or resolve scientific or technological uncertainty. Those decisions remain with your team and advisers.

Is this just a chatbot, or does it actually understand our projects?

It is built specifically for RD&I work and is grounded in documents and reports your team has approved. Its responses draw from your organisation’s validated knowledge, which makes them more relevant than generic answers. As your approved record grows, the assistant has more reliable context to work from.

Can we see where the AI's answers actually come from?

Yes. Generated statements link back to the relevant source document and section, including the page where available. You can review the original evidence at any time and verify how the answer was produced.

How does this actually help us make better R&D decisions, not just document them?

ReaDI makes your team’s accumulated knowledge searchable and reusable. Information from project setup, progress updates and final reviews becomes part of a shared record. When a similar technical problem appears later, teams can see what has already been tested and what was learned before deciding what to do next.

How does this help us stop losing knowledge when people leave or change roles?

Important learning from experiments, decisions, setbacks and breakthroughs can remain in individual people’s heads. ReaDI turns that knowledge into a structured, searchable organisational record, so it stays available when someone changes role or leaves.

Does this give leadership better visibility across all our R&D projects?

Yes, at project level. The Projects Hub provides one view of current and archived projects, their documentation and their progress. A dedicated portfolio-level strategic view for senior leadership is on the roadmap. At present, visibility comes through the consolidated project view.

Will this slow our engineering team down or add to their admin burden?

It is designed to reduce administrative work. Uploading a document adds it to the knowledge base without requiring a formal report each time. When a full report is needed, the workflow uses information already provided and asks only for details required to fill clear gaps.

How does this reduce the coordination burden for whoever owns R&D internally (Head of Engineering, R&D Manager, etc.)?

Project status, documentation and reporting are kept in one central system. This reduces the need to chase updates across email, spreadsheets and separate tools, while making coordination between engineering, finance and leadership more efficient.

Do we need to replace our existing tools (Jira, SharePoint, etc.) to use this?

No. ReaDI is designed to work alongside the tools you already use. It does not replace project management platforms such as Jira or Redmine. Its focus is capturing and structuring RD&I knowledge that those systems may not be designed to hold.

Does this help us avoid repeating problems we've already solved?

Yes. ReaDI makes accumulated RD&I knowledge searchable, so teams can review what has already been tried before beginning new work. This can speed up delivery, reduce duplicated effort and help the organisation retain the value of previous learning.

Does ReaDI only reflect what our own team already knows, or does it help us do R&D better in general?

Both. The assistant can use your organisation’s approved knowledge and a separate curated Content Library containing RD&I methods and good practice developed through work with customers across sectors. This can help teams structure projects, capture evidence and manage RD&I more effectively. The system keeps these sources distinct, so users can see whether guidance comes from their own record or the broader library.

Does ReaDI-Watch decide whether our R&D qualifies for tax credits?

No. The platform helps your team examine the questions that tax authorities and advisers are likely to ask, including the scientific or technological uncertainty involved, the work carried out to resolve it and why standard practice was insufficient. Your team and qualified advisers make the final assessment, subject to the relevant tax authority.

Do we need to be claiming or planning to claim R&D tax credits to get value from ReaDI?

No. ReaDI is designed first as an R&D management system that helps organisations capture, structure and use the knowledge their teams create. It can improve visibility, reduce knowledge loss and support faster decision-making even where no tax credit claim is planned. Funding can become an additional benefit once the documentation is in place. Some organisations may also discover qualifying activity that had not previously been recognised or structured.

Can we use this if our documentation is already a mess, or only going forward?

Both. ReaDI supports retrospective documentation and can help you reconstruct and organise work that has already taken place. Its value grows further when information is captured as the work happens, reducing the need for year-end reconstruction.

Does this replace our accountant or tax advisor?

No. ReaDI supports your accountant or tax adviser by producing structured, well-evidenced documentation that can make a claim easier to prepare and review. Their professional judgement and relationship with the tax authority remain essential.

Does the platform track our team's time and costs?

Yes. ReaDI provides flexible ways to capture time and cost against R&D activity. You can import existing timesheets or spreadsheet exports, enter figures manually or record them as work progresses. The information is organised against the relevant projects and work packages, so financial evidence sits alongside the supporting technical documentation.

How is this different from the usual once-a-year scramble with a consultant?

The traditional approach can involve reconstructing activity retrospectively under deadline pressure and relying on what people remember. ReaDI supports ongoing capture of reasoning and evidence, so much of the work is already complete when a claim or report is due.

Deliver · Customer Journey

Accelerate R&D with the Knowledge You’ve Already Built

ReaDI captures the knowledge, reasoning and learning behind your R&D as it happens, turning individual experience into an organisational asset. From interviews, meetings and project work, the ReaDI Assistant helps you record what was investigated, what was uncertain, what was decided and what was learned, linking it to your projects, technologies and evidence. When new challenges arise, you can instantly draw on this knowledge — from your own projects, from previous work and from the experience of former colleagues — to inform new investigations and decisions, accelerating development while avoiding repeat work and keeping your team in control.

Accelerate R&D with the Knowledge You’ve Already Built: the journey

Customer profile

Combilift

Lifting Innovation

Founded in 1998 in Monaghan, Ireland, Combilift is a global leader in multi-directional forklifts and long-load handling equipment. Its products are used in over 85 countries.

85+Countries served

800+Employees

80,000+Vehicles in use worldwide

The R&D they do

Cross-functional engineering teams come together to design the next generation of material handling solutions, built around being Simple, Safe, Smart, Sustainable and Saving Space.
The Combi-AGT autonomous guided truck for long loads, developed in collaboration with metal service centres across North America.
A 2023 patent portfolio for a vehicle that lifts and moves wind turbine blades, opening up the offshore wind sector.

Why R&D matters to their success

Design, R&D and intellectual property sit at the core of Combilift’s growth. Rapid innovation and minimal time-to-market are major drivers of its commercial success as one of the world’s fastest-growing forklift manufacturers.

Our partnership

Combilift is a foundational ReaDI-Watch customer. Together we are building the culture, processes and controls for an internationally leading R&D and Innovation programme.

“We are now managing our R&D portfolio using efficient and best-practice principals as integrated into the new ReaDI-Watch digital platform for connected and lean R&D Management.”
Martin McVicar, CEO, Combilift

See how this works for your team

Talk to our team and we'll show you how ReaDI-Watch supports this journey in your organisation.

More ways to deliver better R&DExplore the other Deliver customer journeys.

Accelerate R&D to Market Improve R&D Project Success Increase R&D Team Productivity & Capability Focus Your Best People on Genuine R&D

Frequently asked questions

Still have questions?

Book a 30-minute consultation with a ReaDI-Watch expert to explore how to get the most out of your RD&I.

What is ReaDI?＋

ReaDI is a structured platform, supported by an expert team, that helps R&D-intensive organisations capture, document and fund their Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) activity. It keeps the work organised, defensible and ready for reporting, funding and decision-making, instead of leaving it scattered across people’s memories, inboxes and spreadsheets.

Is ReaDI software, or a service?＋

Both. The platform provides a structured environment, while our team can help define projects, maintain momentum and support reporting where needed. You get a managed system with expert support, as well as access to the software.

Do we need a formal R&D department to benefit from this?＋

No. Many organisations we work with do not have a formal R&D function. The work can sit across engineering, product, operations and quality. ReaDI helps when your team is solving technical problems but cannot easily show what was tried, what worked and why.

What actually changes after we start using ReaDI?＋

RD&I becomes more structured and easier to manage. Projects are framed clearly from the outset, documentation is captured as the work happens and leadership gains better visibility. This reduces the need to reconstruct technical activity at year-end.

Does our team need to change how they already work?＋

The aim is to make capturing your team’s work feel like a natural part of the process, without adding a separate administrative burden. ReaDI works alongside your existing tools and workflows, so engineers do not have to adopt a completely different way of working.