Innovation projects could be considered successful if they lead to novel products, processes, or services, with positive impact on the market. INESC Porto, in partnership with the Science and Higher Education Observatory (OCES) of the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MCES) is undertaking a research project aiming to characterize and analyze the Innovation process, and to identify the critical success factors, in terms of consortium structure and management. The paper describes the work undertaken so far, with a special focus on the impact of the human factor for the success of strategic cooperation networks and alliances for innovation.