Would an entity that is assigned an R&D credit have to be engaged in qualified research in order to be able to use the assigned R&D credit?
No. Even the original entity that generated the credit does not need to be engaged in qualified research at the time it uses the R&D credit, only at the time when the credit is earned. Therefore, there is no reason to require the assignee to be engaged in qualified research in order to be able to use the assigned R&D credit.