Knowledge Economy Forum IV Peter Lindholm Innovation Policy, Innovation infrastructure & commercialisation of scientific results Knowledge Economy Forum IV Istanbul, March 2005 p.lindholm@inno-group.com

An Innovation Policy

An Innovation Policy (1) AGREEING on such a policy is the key building block for future success at a national level. Generally speaking, the design of a policy is not over difficult. It should focus on a vision of GDP growth spanning from existing scientific potential and potential to be built. It takes into account benchmarking indictors and maps the reality of existing scientific and business « talents ».

An Innovation Policy (2) What is more complex is that Policy-makers, R&D institutions, Research staff, and The business community Develop a « sincere » consensus about becoming a knowledge-based economy, or at minima, about generating a significant part of the GDP from knowledge.

An Innovation Policy (3) Such an agreement is key, but not easy to obtain and implies change management for each stakeholder: Policy-makers need to agree on spending in R&D and innovation. Spending will have an effect only if they are significant. This implies policy choices! R&D organisations and researchers need to accept playing a role in economic development and introduce management systems allowing the selection of R&D themes that serve economic growth (incremental or brake-through technologies). The business community has to become more innovative, less dependant from technologies bought from the shelf and start a dialog with scientists.

An Innovation Infrastructure

An Innovation Infrastructure (1) As for the Innovation policy, tools exist and are well known. Some minimum elements will comprise: The legal and regulatory environment (including for IP), Innovation centres/ Commercialisation centres, Free Trade Zones of science, Spin-off programmes for technology-based companies, A series of public-private funds, Mechanisms dedicated to inward investments, Mapping of competencies, Etc etc.

An Innovation Infrastructure (2) Some very much needed ingredients: It is a long-term business Key to everything are the competencies of staff in charge Each infrastructure must have measurable targets PPPs are good vehicles but at early stages public funding must be available It is not necessary to multiply the number of innovation organisations A strict, independent monitoring (not audit) is essential

Commercialisation of Scientific Results

Commercialisation of science (1) Commercialisation has little to do with scientific excellence, it is about money More than one Beneficiary (researchers, institutions, local authorities, State) Commercialisation is about skills No magic “Graal” in this business  

Value creation through the innovation lifecycle R&D Organisations Course of exploitation Capital inflow from exploited research (added funds for further research) Research Projects > Spin-outs > Start-ups > Licensing Intellectual Property “Archives” = Negative Inflow

Patent Exploitation “A patent is an article of trade, not an academic award” Systematic selection of ideas and inventions aiming to assess exploitability Only inventions with believed potential to successfully compete on the market are supported Out of these the most promising projects are singled out and concentrated upon One reason is: only 20% of all claimed patents are subject to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and are effectively in use. 25 % state of the art => no patent 5 % unrealisable 10 % other solution 10 % not marketable 30 % patentable but not in use Exploitability is the decisive factor for activities. If an invention is not exploitable even on a long-term perspective there is no use to research its patentability.

Commercialisation of science (2) Evaluating the existing potential of « objects » to be commercialised? Willingness of players to enter into a strong commercialisation process Availability of resources and competences to start the process

Necessary Ingredients (1) A portfolio of many researchers to ensure a permanent deal-flow of innovations Experience shows that a minimum portfolio of 1 to 1,500 researchers is needed to sustain a proper commercialisation team

Necessary Ingredients (2) A strong consensus between the different stakeholders Commercialisation of public research is a complex process that often « hearts » researchers’ culture. Gaining support from researchers, heads of departments, chancellors is an absolute necessity

Innovation Evaluation Innovation value is determined through a dual-screening process Invention 1st “rough” screening 2nd “detailed” screening Patent / Exploitation “Gut feeling” Experience Early indicators Exploitation screening Market research / Market studies Research / Exploring potential industrial partners Feasibility studies Calculations Determination of the price on the market Survey and verification of exploitation possibilities Patentability screening Patent research national / international Determining the novelty value of the invention

Necessary Ingredients (3) Agree on measurable targets Turnover Start-ups Growth of existing companies Joint-ventures Research contracts

Necessary Ingredients (4) Time Time to find out what can be commercialised and under which form Time to convince researcher to participate actively in the process Time to find customers Time to close deals

Necessary Ingredients (5) Attract Competences Commercialisation implies a team of efficient, fast, flexible and very motivated individuals with inter-cultural skills Need of enough people to cover all commercial aspects Capacities to speak to research teams AND international companies

Necessary Ingredients (6) Proactivity Visit all R&D teams Create trust Maintain continuous links Focus on group of R&D teams willing and able to enter the process Attract the other teams with a case by case approach

Necessary Ingredients (7) Being international Benchmark research offers towards other European teams Establish links with customers based on needs and not location Create networks across the world

Necessary Ingredients (8) Stop « Fairy Tailing » The stock on the shelf is rarely of high value Other research teams do similar things Companies do not always look for state of the art research, they search for technologies immediately usable

Expected Outputs

Expected Outputs (1) Increase GDP and Generate income for Companies Researchers Research teams Research Institutions The investors (public & private of the PPP)

Developing Centres of Excellence Expected Outputs (2) Developing Centres of Excellence Based on market needs, favouring the creation of new centres of excellence in horizontal research fields Entering international programmes (FP6 from EU, etc.)

Expected Outputs (3) Develop an entrepreneurial spirit to Help researchers becoming more opened to the usage of their work Favour the creation of a large number of start-ups

Expected Outputs (4) Facilitate the development of the National Innovation System Help firms able and willing to access innovations Help clarifying the dilemma between basic research versus innovation & technology

Expected Outputs (5) Create a strong image Helps attracting resources Supports the growth and competitiveness Attracts demands from local and international businesses