Luminairo – R&D Portfolio Strategy & Advisory | Technology Roadmap, Feasibility, Turkey R&D Ecosystem

R&D Spending ≠ R&D Value

Most R&D organizations are good at starting projects. Very few are good at stopping them. Projects drift, funding cases weaken, and university partnerships produce papers instead of outcomes. The problem is rarely lack of activity — it's lack of decision discipline: knowing which technology bets to make, at what TRL, with what commercial link. We work to make your R&D spending defensible, fundable, and tied to commercial results.

Our Services

With You at Every Decision Point

Wherever you are in your R&D journey, you leave with a concrete output. Start with a Diagnostic and go deeper as needed.

feeds the process

Paid Subscription · Ongoing

Luminairo Radar

EU and international R&D funding calls — filtered by your sector and technology focus

Turkish regulatory and policy updates relevant to R&D investment and incentives

Partnership and consortium opportunities in Turkey

Technology and sector news — filtered for portfolio relevance

Luminairo Action Recommendations

Funding application ideas matched to your portfolio and priorities

Positioning and compliance actions based on regulatory changes

Direct connection to implementation support when needed

Client-specific · Monthly or quarterly Ask about Luminairo Radar

Every engagement starts with a Diagnostic. We scan your portfolio, priorities, and key decision challenges together — clarify what matters and determine the right scope. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so.

Why Us? Because We've Been on the Inside.

Operator experience, not advisor theory: We took projects from concept to field. We managed the budgets, passed the audits, and delivered results. We weren't watching from the outside — we were the ones making decisions and being accountable for them.

Not tied to a single campus — tied to the problem: We have a multi-university network spanning METU, ITU, Bogazici, Sabanci, Bilkent, and regional universities. We structure R&D collaborations from both the industry and the academic side.

We don't sell form-filling: We can write applications and reports — but only as part of strategic validation and decision support. As TÜBİTAK reviewers, we build proposals from the evaluator's perspective. We don't rescue audits in the last month; we win at project inception.

European institutional experience: We have managed R&D programs co-funded by the EIB and EBRD alongside national and EU-framework funded projects. We know how international R&D investment cases are built and evaluated.

Luminairo is a new firm. But the methods behind it are not. They were tested across 126 R&D projects, 11 independent audits, and an international OEM. Our working approach — the Luminairo Decision Methodology — is applied with the same discipline on every engagement: Select, Defend, Commercialize.

Do Any of These Apply to Your R&D Portfolio?

Check the ones that are true for your organization:

No R&D project has been formally stopped or de-scoped in the past 3 years.

Incremental product improvements account for more than 50% of the R&D budget.

There is no structured 5-year technology roadmap with clear investment priorities.

Technology readiness levels are not tracked systematically at project level.

University partnerships produce papers but rarely commercial or technical outputs.

No applications to EU or international R&D funding programs in the past 3 years.

R&D project outputs are not systematically evaluated for commercial transition.

There is no structured go/no-go process at key project milestones.

Competitive technology monitoring is informal or doesn't feed portfolio decisions.

R&D investment in Turkey is under consideration but the ecosystem is unclear.

Free R&D Intelligence Bulletin: EU and international funding calls, Turkish regulatory updates, and R&D ecosystem news — open format, for everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Luminairo is a new firm. Why should I trust you?

Luminairo is a new brand; the experience behind it is not. Our team has 21+ years across academia and industry, directly managing 126 R&D projects, governing €35.5M+ in R&D investment, and passing 11 independent audits with zero findings.

The difference between advisory and operator experience: we managed budgets, took risks, hired engineers, and delivered results on behalf of organizations we worked for. Today we stand behind our own name.

Our goal isn't to help start more projects — it's to build the decision discipline that gets more R&D projects to commercial outcomes.

How does the process work? What's the first step?

The first step is a short introductory call — we understand your R&D structure, portfolio, and the most critical decision you're currently facing.

From there we start with a Diagnostic: a focused, fast engagement with concrete outputs. That clarifies which service — Strategize, Validate, or Connect — makes sense next.

Every engagement has a defined scope, timeline, and deliverable: decision memo, risk list, prioritization, roadmap, or management presentation. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so directly.

Which industries do you serve?

Our primary focus is technology-developing industrial companies: agricultural equipment, automotive, defense, machinery, mechatronics, mobile machines, and industrial systems.

We create most value for companies with active R&D investment where it's not clearly connecting to commercial outcomes, defensible funding, or strategic advantage.

Sector aside, what we look for: the company has meaningful R&D spending, but whether that spending translates to commercial outcomes, fundable projects, or strategic value isn't clear. That's where we work.

Do you work remotely or on-site?

Both, depending on the engagement. Document review, portfolio analysis, feasibility assessment, and application quality review can be done remotely.

Critical decision workshops, deep portfolio dives, and collaboration structuring benefit from being on-site — because R&D problems don't only show in documents; they show in team dynamics, decision habits, and how priorities get set.

Our typical model: remote Diagnostic first, focused on-site work when the engagement calls for it.

What does the Turkey R&D Ecosystem Access service actually include?

Three things: OEM partner mapping and introductions aligned to your technology focus; university collaboration structuring with Turkish universities (output-oriented, not paper-oriented); and R&D center setup advisory — including an overview of the Turkish R&D incentive landscape for foreign investors.

We navigate the ecosystem on your behalf. We don't provide tax or legal advisory — those require local specialists, which we can refer you to.

The claim is specific: if you want R&D presence in Turkey, or collaboration with the Turkish R&D ecosystem, we help you navigate it — without starting from scratch.

Can you help with EU or international funding applications?

Yes — but not as a grant-writing service. We review your portfolio, assess which projects are fundable, and build applications from the evaluator's perspective.

We have served as reviewers on national and European R&D programs and managed a EUREKA-ITEA international consortium project as national and international coordinator. We know which work packages get funded and which get rejected.

We also help with consortium partner matching for international calls — including finding Turkish partners for EU-funded consortiums.

What are your prerequisites for working together?

Four expectations — not hard rules, but what makes the work productive:

1. Direct access to decision-makers. To generate high value, we need to work directly with R&D Directors or senior management — not filtered through intermediaries.

2. Active R&D budget or funding mechanism. We work with companies that have meaningful R&D spending and want to clarify whether it's converting to strategic value.

3. Defined scope. Every engagement has a clear scope, timeline, and output. We don't do open-ended retainer consulting.

4. R&D treated as a strategic decision. We produce the most value for companies that treat R&D as portfolio and commercial decision-making — not just as a cost line or tax benefit.

If the conditions don't fit, we'll say so directly — your time is valuable, and so is ours.

What is the scope and cost of the Diagnostic?

The Diagnostic is a paid, scoped engagement — not a free exploration call. It covers three dimensions: portfolio health analysis, risk and opportunity mapping across funding and collaboration, and initial action priorities.

You receive four concrete outputs: structural portfolio analysis, technology roadmap assessment, list of fundable projects and relevant programs, and a prioritized action list.

The purpose is to take a snapshot of the current state and identify the next priority actions. All engagements begin here — and if there's no sensible next step after the Diagnostic, we'll say so.

What's the difference between Luminairo Intelligence and the free bulletin?

They serve different purposes.

The free bulletin covers general sector news, EU and international funding calls, and regulatory updates — open format, for everyone. It's designed for anyone who wants to stay informed on the R&D world.

Luminairo Intelligence (Radar subscription) is paid and client-specific. Two components: first, news and opportunities filtered to your portfolio and strategic priorities; second, Luminairo's action recommendations based on that intelligence — what to apply for, what to prepare for, and direct connection to implementation support when needed.

The bulletin informs. Luminairo Intelligence tells you what to do.

How is Luminairo different from a typical management consultant?

Management consultants analyze from the outside. We ran R&D from the inside — we managed the budgets, hired the engineers, negotiated the partnerships, and passed the audits.

Our framework isn't built from case studies or frameworks applied at arm's length. It's built from having been accountable for the results: 126 projects, 11 audits, and an international OEM.

We don't optimize the last mile. We build portfolios that are defensible and value-generating from day one — because that's how we did it when it was our own name on the line.

Let's Assess Your R&D Portfolio Together

We'll listen to your situation and tell you directly whether we can help. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so — your time is valuable, and so is ours.
Typical response: 1–2 business days.

Email: info@luminairo.com

Phone: +90 533 224 63 07

Location: Ankara, Turkiye · Available Worldwide

In our first call we'll understand your situation and assess whether we can help. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you directly.

Are your R&D decisions defensible?
In portfolio value, strategic focus, and commercial outcomes.

R&D Spending ≠ R&D Value

With You at Every Decision Point

Experience Taking R&D from Concept to Field

Why Us? Because We've Been on the Inside.

Who's Behind This?

Hakan Mencek, Ph.D.

Özge Mencek, M.Sc.

Do Any of These Apply to Your R&D Portfolio?

Frequently Asked Questions

Let's Assess Your R&D Portfolio Together