0 Main Problems of Access to Market Information in Russia O.B.Saluleva, Head of the Technology Transfer Office, Innovation Business Center, Yekaterinburg

1 Issues for discussion Obtaining market information from R&D authors. Data sheet. Patent and license situation analysis. Studying the external environment. Data processing.

2 Problems of access to authors’ information Inadequate level of authors’ information on the market. Lack of extended and actively used communications with relevant industries. Low production management level. Insufficient business culture of researchers. Lack of information partnership with other research centers. Shortage of professional experts on technology transfer.

3 Problems of access to patent and license information Underestimation of the value of patent and license information. Absence of regional multifunctional scientific & technical information services. Lack of specialized services and analytical materials on the current state of the patent and license market.

4 Patent and license situation analysis Studying development trends of this class of devices/technologies; Assessment of the value of the invention; Deciding matters of expediency of patenting; Determining export prospects and geography; Choice of companies – licensees and licensors; Identifying competitors, their strategy and tactic; Choice of probable counterparties; Development of an optimal strategy for promoting a product to the market.

5 Problems of access to market information Lack of databases on the industry’s need for innovation; Inaccessibility of market information on private companies’ activity; Lack of specialized databases on innovative companies’ produce and services; Isolation of information resources on the regional and departmental levels; Difficulty in gathering reliable information.

6 External environment review Target market volume and potential; Product/technology market share; Competitors and their specifics; Specific problems of potential buyers requiring innovative solutions; Existing norms and standards of the produce; Federal and local investment programs; International innovation support programs.

7 Search for information sources External environment Information sources In paper format In electronic format “Agents’" data

8 Information in paper format Statistic collections of the RF Goskomstat and the local authorities; mass media reports on annual economic results; Industrial periodicals The Oil Industry, The Machine Builder, The Mining Journal; industrial handbooks The Light Industry, The Medical Industry, The Industry of Construction Materials; Specialized editions: Innovations, Automation and Modern Technologies, The Business Quarter, Expert.

9 On-line databases On-line data search. The overall number of databases exceeded 10,000. The largest database, Lexis®-Nexis® contains over 1.5 billion documents: 12,500 sources, 7,300 databases. Business information News Company information Financial information Reports on market studies Scientific and technical literature Patent documentation Legal information

10 Internet resources Interactive database on produce and technologies of the Ural region universities and small innovative companies

11 Business intelligence “Agent information” on results of interviews and surveillance, participation in contact seminars, conferences, exhibitions, educational and consultative activity; Company reports and handbooks, legal cases, business and industrial press, commercial prospects, patent documentation, scientific periodicals, and materials of conferences; Access problems.

12 From isolated data to justified strategic decisions 1. Working out an analytical strategy 2. Data gathering. 3. Analysis and synthesis 3.1. Systemizing initial data 3.2. Quantitative methods (SWOT-analysis, the Boston matrix) 3.3. Qualitative models 3.4. “Creative” methods 3.5. Computerizing analytical data processing

13 TTO network information exchange Problem: competition instead of cooperation Publication of monthly bulletins and brochures, supporting a website, development and support of databases on perspective R&D results and industry’s need for innovation; Personnel exchange, establishment of close partnership connections, presentation of TTO networks at various functions, exhibitions, and contact seminars; Support of transnational TTO cooperation, exchange of experience and know-how.

14 Effective access to market information requires Focusing on direct contacts with technology consumers for taking into consideration their need for innovation and revealing the trends in consumer demand for these companies’ produce. Actively using Internet resources and e-market instruments. Developing information exchange cooperation with TTO in other regions and countries.

15 Give me access to information – and I shall overturn the world