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