1. www.FITT-for-Innovation.eu Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey FITT (Fosterring Interregional Exchange in ICT Technology Transfer)

2. 2 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey Partnership Management  Partnership management is essential to assure the best relationship and cooperation, business or research, between TTO’s and industrial partners.  Relationship Management with partners and customers enables to: Have more efficient exploitation of the research results Create mutual trust, long-lasting and positive relationships Pave the way for future transfer opportunities  Successful partnership management brings mutual benefits: Identify opportunities Stay aligned to market needs/expectations Identify & solve specific problems

3. 3 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey Partnership Management Partnership Agreement Partners and clients Satisfaction survey Impact Assessment  This practice is supported by three main pillars:

4. 4 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey The satisfaction survey  Satisfaction survey impacts the organization at different levels:  The organization’s culture  The internal processes  The main objective is to identify sources of dissatisfaction and to initiate improvement actions with specific indicators that allow a close follow-up. Hints:  Conducting a “mirror” survey is strongly recommended to compare the perception of partners’ satisfaction with the staff’s point of view  Identify the gap between internal and external perception and initiate actions to reduce it  Outsourcing the survey could overcome impartiality issues Satisfaction survey is a tool that shows how the Public Research Organization is perceived by clients and partners

5. 5 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey The satisfaction survey process The survey process: 1.Select indicators according to what you want to measure and your objectives  assure the follow-up of the indicators over time 2.Prepare the questionnaire according to the communication channel and reduce the bias 3.Segment your clients and partners before picking up the sample  All the relationship with them must be closed at the start of the survey 4.Run the survey by phone (for instance) complemented with face to face interviews with clients and partners expressing a high degree of dissatisfaction 5.Process the qualitative and quantitative data, stress strengths and suggest improvements 6.Disseminate result across the organization

6. 6 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey The impact of research results  Impact Assessment is a “tricky” practice to put in place due to the choice of the relevant indicators  A long time span is very often required to assess the impact of the research results to be considered as reliable: more than 5 years in most cases  It is difficult to isolate the impact of a transferred result from other organizational activities, decisions, etc.  The impact of the results must only be assessed after their transfer Impact assessment is a tool to enable an in-depth evaluation of impact of public research and transfer activities on economic, environmental and social fields.

7. 7 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey Impact survey: some indicators Category of impactsExample of indicators Impact on economy, technology and commercialization Product/Service/Process/ Creation/Improvement Cost-savings Research Methods Creation/Improvement Patent Applications Impact on knowledge, expertise and human capital Expertise strengthening Research Methods Improvement Scientific Impacts: scientific publications, conference and seminar presentation Impact on networking and social capital Network creation Domestic networks, Global networks Organizational and social innovations Impact on decision making and public discourse Participation in legislative and strategic planning Norms, Regulation and standards Impact on social and physical environment Material/Resources and/or Energy Consumption Reduction Regional development and growth Promotion Safety Promotion

8. 8 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey Stakeholders  Satisfaction survey:  Quality service (2 full-time persons)  Coordinate the survey, present the results to the staff, recommend and engage actions  Top and middle Management  Communicate the results inside the five CRP Henri Tudor’s departments. Disseminate the results among the research teams  CRP Henri Tudor’s Board of directors  Presentation of the results and recommendations  Partners and clients  feedback on the survey results and the actions engaged  Impact assessment:  Project management office (1 part-time person)  Define the process and coordinate the related activities Other potential stakeholders:  Governmental organisms : Ministry of the high education and the research, Ministry of the economy and the Research National Fund (FNR)  Set the performance contract terms as a function of impact achievements

9. 9 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey PRO’s & CON’s PROs Remain aligned with the clients/partners and market expectations Engage the organization in a constant self- improvement process Assess the impact of the transferred results  Realize the real value of the PRO in its region or country CONs Satisfaction indicators are in most cases too global do not providing specific feedback to the teams or individuals These practices impact the culture and process of the whole organization  Big changes require to be managed carefully

10. 10 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey Rationale Use the Satisfaction survey if :  Your clients’ and partners’ satisfaction is part of your mission or objectives  You mainly provide solutions to real problems and need feedbacks from the market, clients or partners  You assess the performance of your organization in a key performance indicators (KPI) basis  You are ISO 9001 certified and you have to fulfill the quality requirements Use the Impact assessment if:  You have to express before your stakeholders how valuable your organization is for your region/country  You want to assess the real performance of the organization and its alignment with its mission

11. 11 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey Outcomes  Evaluation of the real contribution of the satisfaction survey requires a longer time horizon  at the current state it is too early to claim their real contributions of this practice  Impact Assessment of the transferred research results has not been successfully implemented yet (at CRP Henri Tudor)  Rethinking in progress Partnership management requires time to see tangible results: start the process, monitor it and above all…be patient

12. 12 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey Lessons Learned  Satisfaction survey  Clients and partners segmentation is paramount to be successful in the evaluation of their satisfaction  Tracking the clients and partners satisfaction over time is critical to evaluate the evolution of organization’s performance and the relevance of the actions engaged  Selection of the right impact and satisfaction indicators are critical to have reliable assessments  take into account your organization's objectives  Impact Assessment  Research results Impact Assessment is a “tricky” practice to put in place  get active advice and support from the organizations having already succeeded to implement it  Impact surveys conducted too early create frustration and not reliable results: > 5 years in average

13. 13 |Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey Suggested Readings  Link to bibliography  “Responsible Partnering. Joining Forces in a World of Open Innovation. A Guide to Better Practices for Collaborative Research and Knowledge Transfer between Science and Industry” - Guidelines published by European University Association, European Association of Research and Technology Organizations, European Industrial Research Management Association, ProTon Europe  “University-Industry Research Relations in the United States” - by Bronwyn H. Hall  Link to relevant websites  http://www.innovation.gov.uk/lambertagreements/  http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/guidepropintel/outils_contractuels/contrat_de_consortium.htm