Help us, define research at your co. a little better. I find everyone here goes back to the standard for reference. "Research" appears once in 9000, twice in 9004, but not at all in the 9001 requirements.
At my co., we start with a Design and Development plan from the beginning. Resources must be provided to investigate (research) the feasibility of a given idea. This may or may not convert into a product development project. For example, if we design and prototype a circuit board and find that we cannot meet the customer requirements for size or cost even though we meet the function spec., dead project. However, if this "research" proves a viable product, all of the information gathered becomes the foundation for the entire design-develop-manufacture-finished product-delighted customer process.
I would argue that you should have a business management system that would prevent wasting resources on researching impossible or impractical products.