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Paul O’Reilly, Dublin Institute of TechnologyMaeve Henchion, Ashtown Food Research Centre
Deborah Kelly, Ashtown Food Research Centre
Creating the Innovation Island
InterTradeIreland Innovation Conference
June 9th, 2009
About TOOLBOX Technology transfer defined Technology transfer prioritised Success and failure factors in technology
transfer from publicly funded food research –case study findings
Overall TOOLBOX findings
TOOLBOX Project◦ Development of a technology commercialisation
toolbox for publicly funded food research Project partners◦ Dublin Institute of Technology◦ Ashtown Food Research Centre, Teagasc
Funded by Department of Agriculture,Fisheries and Food - Food InstitutionalResearch Measure of the NationalDevelopment Plan
Document and evaluate the existing food innovationsystem
To understand the incentives, barriers and obstacles forsuccessful research commercialisation and technologytransfer from the researcher and industry perspectives
To identify success and failure factors facilitatingresearch commercialisation and technology transfer inpublic research projects
4 focus groupsResearcher surveyIndustry survey20 case studiesInternational best practice case studies2 workshops
Increasing the stock of useful knowledge; Training skilled graduates; Creating new scientific instrumentation and
methodologies; Forming networks and stimulating social
interaction; Increasing the capacity for scientific and
technological problem-solving Provision of social knowledge; and Creating new firms.
GENERATING ECONOMICRETURN FOR CITIZENS
Low levels of R&D investment in Irish food industry◦ Large numbers of SMEs without capability or expertise to
invest in R&D◦ Limited engagement with public research centres
Global competition and adverse market conditions Growing interest from policy makers in achieving
economic returns from public investment inresearch
Societal benefits (e.g. food safety) Underdeveloped technology transfer functions in
public research organisations,
Definition:◦ Technology transfer is the “movement of know-
how, technical knowledge or technology from oneorganisation to another” (Bozeman, 2000)
Rogers et al. (2001): a difficult type of communication process,spanning the stages from R&D to commercialisation.
Feller et al (1987): an extended series of “interactive relationshipsthat connect the functional activities of basic research, appliedresearch, development, diffusion, adaptation, and dissemination intoan overall technology delivery system”.
Levin (1997): socio-technical learning and development process,where the technology is perceived as a social construction wherehuman choice and values influence the result.
Autio and Laamanen (1995): Planned, deliberate, goal-orientedrelations between two or more persons, groups or organisations toexchange technological knowledge and/or objects and rights.
Power and McDougall (2005): Process by which technologiesdeveloped in universities are transformed into commercial andmarketable products.
Building Ireland’s Smart EconomyA Framework for Sustainable Economic
Renewal
December 2008
Department of the Taoiseach
“The key objective of Ireland’s Smart Economic Growthframework is to make Ireland the innovation and
commercialisation capital of Europe – a country that combinesthe features of an attractive home for innovative
multinationals while also being an incubation environment forthe best entrepreneurs from Europe and further afield.”
“Ireland has already laid the foundations of the ideaseconomy by investing heavily in education, skills
training and R&D under the National DevelopmentPlan, which includes delivery of the Strategy forScience, Technology and Innovation involving
major investments in basic research through thePRTLI, SFI and other funding programmes. €8.2
billion has been committed to research,technological development and innovation.
Business expenditure on R&D is targeted to grow toabout €3.8 billion per annum by 2013.”
Industry-led Competence Centre Programme; Active management of Intellectual Property; Implementation of the Strategy for Science,
Technology and Innovation (e.g. PRTLI); Promotion of commercialisation of opportunities
through relevant funding programmes; Attract to Ireland a premium cohort of world class
researchers that will drive up the internationalvisibility;
Instil a commercialisation culture in third-levelinstitutions; and
Summer schools with an emphasis on innovationand commercialisation.
Promoting Enterprise-Higher EducationRelationships(Forfás, 2007)◦ “The two key constraints to the deepening of enterprise-
higher education research collaborations in Ireland are thelow absorptive capacity of enterprises for research and agap in the availability of applied research capability thatenterprises can readily access. “◦ “Research commissioned by the Council indicates that HEI-
enterprise collaboration operates at a very low level inIreland, and that the structures for encouragement andsupport of the process have failed to achieve the level ofcontribution appropriate to Higher Education Expenditureon Research and Development (HERD)”.
European Commission (2005) notes that sub-optimalresearch collaboration and knowledge transfer betweenpublic research organisations and industry are one ofthe weaknesses of the European research andinnovation system that must be overcome if there is tobe development of a sustainable knowledge economy.
The 1994 White Paper Growth, Competitiveness,Employment. The Challenges and Ways Forward into the21st Century noted that the “greatest weakness inEurope’s research and industrial base is thecomparatively limited capacity to convert scientificbreakthroughs and technological achievements intoindustrial and commercial successes”.
20 case studies◦ Projects that originated as FIRM funded initiatives◦ Scientific objectives achieved and validated by
multiple peer review publication All cases had technology transfer objectives◦ 12 cases achieved technology transfer◦ 8 cases resulted in no identifiable technology
transfer Approach◦ Semi-structured interviews with principal
investigators
Technology Transfer √ Technology Transfer ╳Dissemination Person-to-person
communications;industry-orienteddocumentation; on-going throughoutproject
Reliance on traditionalpublication; academicaudience; end ofproject; compliancewith fundingrequirements
Validation Industry and academicrecognition sought;personal motivations
Academic recognitionsought
Research scope Focus on issues ofspecific enterprise(s)
Tendency to focus onindustry level issues
Performancemeasurement
Will become a barrier infuture
A major deterrent frominvesting time workingwith industry
Technology Transfer √ Technology Transfer ╳Industryrelationships
“good”“informal and personal”“mutually beneficial”“established”
“weak”“formal”“awkward”
Frequency ofinteraction
Very frequent; “part ofwhat we do”
Limited (by researcherchoice)
Origin of researchideas
Tended to be validatedby industry; marketdemand
Researcher own ideafrom previous research;no evidence of marketdemand
Perspective ofindustry
Considered industry tohave incompatibleexpectations –innovation system mustadapt
Considered industry tohave incompatibleexpectations – industrymust change
Motivation of the researcher is critical Overarching importance of personal relationships
between researchers and industry Benefits from focusing research efforts around
needs of specific enterprise(s)◦ Aids more regular communications and interaction◦ Closer relationships◦ Availability of tacit information
Importance of industry buy-in to projects fromoutset
Implications for public researchorganisations◦ Significant changes required in researcher
performance measurement systems◦ Need to reconfigure how technology transfer is
managed as a process within public researchorganisations
Implications for funding agencies◦ Potential role for collaborative research
programmes
Communication : Need for increased and improvedcommunications between researchers and industry.
Socialisation: Need to break down boundaries betweenthe public researcher community and the food industrycommunity that inhibit knowledge sharing, collaborationand ultimately technology transfer.
Enabling researchers: Need to enhance organisationalsupports in public science providers to enable technologytransfer and industry collaboration.
Strategic management: Need for increased strategicmanagement of research project programmes.
Industry capabilities: Industry needs to developcapabilities to make strategic use of and leverage publiclyfunded research, and research organisations need torecognise the diversity of capabilities that exist within theindustry.
www.dit.ie/toolbox
www.dit.ie/toolbox