The article gives insights in how applied research and development worked in the early days when science-based public research institutions where created around the globe, how it works nowadays with an increasing diversity of R&D actors, which R&D breakthroughs are needed in agri-food research and how potential solutions could look like, why cooperation and a sound research cooperation strategy is vital and how it is developed including an evolutive strategy development approach, and how important it is to respect the human factor while developing a cooperation strategy particularly in public applied research institutions.