The Research and Development Office (RDO) began its activities in 2010, a time when formal research management structures were not an integral part of the research ecosystem in India. The office was created to facilitate research and training at the Cluster, via enabling research funding. Over the years, we have mined numerous opportunities for researchers and established robust pipelines and best practices to facilitate effective management of grants at both pre-award and post-award stages as well as for facilitating research collaborations. The office now offers a concerted mechanism for managing these activities across the four member institutes of the Bangalore Life Science Cluster (BLiSC). The office is a pioneering example of the potential for an institutional centralized service for fundraising and research management in India.