How TTOs Support Innovators

Universities can be the region’s most underused startup studio. When they combine founder-friendly IP policies, fast tech transfer, and venture partnerships, they turn research into products, talent into founders, and campuses into engines of GDP. Why this Matters The US unlocked a commercialization wave when universities were allowed to own and license inventions from federally funded research (Bayh–Dole Act, 1980). That single policy catalyzed modern tech transfer and thousands of spinouts. MENA can fast-follow with an adapted, founder-friendly model. But the prize is bigger than just startups. This is how the region could one day produce its first globally recognized vaccine, its first indigenous aircraft, or its first breakthrough technology platform. It’s not about reinventing the wheel, it’s about ensuring the next big innovations come from here.   The Playbook: 1- Founder-friendly IP & Equity Policy: Target a simple 80/20 founding equity (founders/university) pre-investment; no anti-dilution. This aligns incentives and de-risks early fundraising. (Oxford adopted an 80/20 standard in 2021.) 2- Proof of Concept Grants Rapid and rolling micro-grants ($25-$100K) to bridge lab>demo>first customer (with a fast paced decision) 3- Professional Tech Transfer Office Staff it with ex-founders and sector operators. Evidence shows that a good staffed TTO improve commercialization outcomes.  4- Campus Accelerator + EIRs A zero or tiny equity accelerator students/researchers. Should bring EIR and industry fellows to pressure-test markets and co-found with faculty. 5- VC Co-investment Universities shouldn't try to be VCs but enable VCs. VCs should have a separate sidecar funds with standard SAFEs and fast diligence window. 6- Track the Metrics that Matter Track invention disclosures per faculty, spinouts/year, time-to-license, first-round capital raised, survival to Series A, jobs created, and university equity realized.   Proof it Works: Google (PageRank>Google Search), born from Stanford research; scaled with VC (Kleiner Perkins & Sequoia led the $25m round in 1999).  RSA public-key cryptography, invented at MIT; foundation of secure web and e-commerce.  CRISPR–Cas9 gene editing, academic breakthroughs at UC Berkeley/University of Vienna and Broad Institute; now a pillar of biotech. Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, University of Oxford partnered with AstraZeneca; Vaccitech (Oxford spin-out) central to the platform. Oxford Nanopore, University of Oxford spin-out that made portable DNA sequencing mainstream.  Graphene, isolated at The University of Manchester; ignited a global wave of materials innovation and spin-outs. Universities shouldn’t expect spinouts to plug budget holes fast. The UK’s experience shows spinouts take time; the strategy payoff is talent attraction, regional growth, and outsized long-term wins. #innovation #funding #startups #MENA

Scaling Clean Energy with the Right Support 🌍⚡ Expanding clean energy access isn’t just about technology, it’s about building the right support systems to help solutions thrive. That’s where Technical Assistance (TA) comes in. But how can we make TA more effective? This recent white paper by EEP Africa explores what makes for a strong TA ecosystem and how we can ensure it genuinely supports clean energy innovators to scale and succeed. Here are three key actions we can take: ✅ Let Local Partners Lead: The people who know the challenges and opportunities best are those closest to them. Empowering local organizations to shape and deliver TA ensures the support is practical, relevant, and aligned with community needs. ✅ Understand the TA Landscape for Additionality: Providing effective TA starts with understanding what’s already available. By identifying gaps and avoiding duplication, we can ensure support adds real value, amplifying the impact of existing efforts. ✅ Focus on Context-Driven Capacity Building for long-term sustainability: Real, lasting change happens when support is rooted in the local context. Building long-term capacity means listening to entrepreneurs, understanding their specific realities, and equipping them with the skills and resources they need to grow sustainably. By focusing on these principles, we can foster a more resilient and effective TA ecosystem that accelerates clean energy access and supports entrepreneurs to succeed. 🔗 Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/esDDVvck #CleanEnergy #TechnicalAssistance #EnergyAccess #Sustainability #ImpactDriven #Partnerships #EntrepreneurSupport

Researchers and technology transfer professionals hold the key to a more dynamic and improved innovation ecosystem. In today’s rapidly evolving innovation landscape, characterized by disruption and conflict, it’s more important than ever to empower universities, research institutions, and innovators to commercialize their intellectual property effectively. World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO latest guide on technology transfer incentives, entitled “Incentives in Technology Transfer: A guide to encourage, recognize and reward researchers and professionals,” is designed to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world application. This guide, part of our WIPO IP Toolkit for Universities (https://lnkd.in/ebRW-V-d), addresses the crucial role of academic research in driving innovation. It emphasizes the importance of providing incentives and support to translate research into practical solutions. The guide is divided into two different sections, aimed at the main players: academic researchers and technology transfer professionals (TTPs). Supervised by Alejandro Roca Campana and led by Lien VERBAUWHEDE KOGLIN, with the support of the guide also highlights the vital contribution of Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) in facilitating knowledge transfer from academia to industry. Key insights from the guide include: ·        Optimizing Incentive Programs: Discover strategies to navigate the challenges of incentive programs, striking the right balance and timing to drive research commercialization effectively. ·        Understanding Motivations: Gain insights into the motivations and barriers of researchers and technology transfer professionals, essential for designing impactful incentive strategies. ·        Examining Incentives: Explore successful financial and non-financial incentives for researchers, as well as academic career advancement incentives implemented by leading institutions. These measures foster a culture of innovation and collaboration within academic communities. We believe that the insights from this guide will serve as a practical tool for governments, universities, researchers, businesses and funders as they navigate the complexities of technology transfer in today’s innovation-driven world. For more information, access the guide here: https://lnkd.in/eGcbMkdU #WIPO #TechnologyTransfer #TechTransfer #Innovation #WIPO #InnovationEcosystem #Incentives #AcademicResearch #EconomicDevelopment #Inventors #Incentivize #Researchers

As someone who has worked in both government and the private sector, I firmly believe in the pivotal role that governments play in supporting startups and encouraging entrepreneurship. I think you will agree that entrepreneurship is not just about starting businesses, but also about stimulating economic growth, facilitating innovation and creating jobs. But how can governments support these important players? According to the World Economic Forum, these are seven ways governments can support and promote entrepreneurship, and I'm glad that the Saudi government is on the right track in implementing these proposals. ✅ Providing access to funding: It is often difficult for entrepreneurs to get access to capital. Governments can help by offering grants, loans, and financial incentives. ✅Reducing bureaucratic red tape: Complex regulations and paperwork can hinder the growth of startups. Governments can simplify procedures to make it easier for entrepreneurs to navigate the regulations. ✅Investing in education and training: Entrepreneurs need diverse skills to be successful. Governments can invest in tailored education and training programs to give entrepreneurs the knowledge and tools they need. ✅Encouraging innovation: Innovation is the engine of entrepreneurship. Governments can encourage innovation by investing in research and development and offering tax incentives to companies that develop new technologies. ✅Creating a supportive legal framework: A favorable legal environment is essential for startups. Governments can simplify business registration, protect intellectual property rights, and enforce contracts, creating a stable foundation for growth.  ✅Fostering a culture of entrepreneurship: Cultivating a supportive culture is crucial. Governments can run awareness campaigns, celebrate entrepreneurial achievements, and organize events such as Global Entrepreneurship Week to inspire and connect entrepreneurs worldwide. ✅Encouraging networking and collaboration: Networking is critical to the success of startups. Governments can support accelerators, incubators, and networking events that bring together entrepreneurs, investors, and experts to foster collaboration and growth. In 2016, the Saudi government established the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (MonshaatSA) to support SMEs. It works on reviewing regulations, facilitating access to finance and providing marketing support to startups and SMEs. In addition, Monshaat provides support through partnerships with incubators, training institutions, and VCs, and acts as a one-stop shop for SMEs in Saudi Arabia. #SaudiArabia has set itself the goal of becoming the premier startup hub in the MENA region by 2030, and I'm curious and excited to see how these initiatives will help achieve this goal. #government #privatesector #publicprivatepartnership #startupsupport #startupinitiatives #saudiarabia #menaregion #SMEs 

#Innovation is the result of talent and financial resources invested by a company. However, talent and R&D investment alone are not enough to guarantee success in generating innovations. In fact, even with the same level of human capital and R&D investment, some organizations are significantly more innovative than others.   👥📚🧑🎓 “Beyond resources, #innovators need the right context for their talent to flourish, one where, alongside them, there are other key players, each contributing in different ways,” writes @Marco Tortoriello, Co-Director of the Network Innovation Lab, with @STMicroelectronics, summarizing some of the topics tackled by the lab. The research team includes Co-Director @Giuseppe Soda, Ron Burt, Manuel Gomez Solorzano, Alessandro Iorio, Pier Vittorio Mannucci, Sonja Opper, Leonardo Rizzo.   🌐 In fact, not all roles in a network are the same. Not everyone excels at everything, but that doesn’t mean their contributions are trivial. While innovators often receive much attention in academic and managerial literature, those who enable them to excel tend to be overlooked.   💥 Yet some research has highlighted the importance of key figures known as “innovation catalysts,” individuals who, though not necessarily innovators themselves, facilitate knowledge aggregation and integration in an organization to support the work of innovators. Case in point, in the R&D lab of a major multinational company and leading innovator, the presence of these catalysts in a network has been shown to enhance, and in some cases even double, the productivity of the people who are generating new ideas, measured in terms of the number of patents they produce within a given period.   ⚽ To use a football metaphor, the goal scorer may be the hero, but the player providing the assist is just as essential, if not more so.   Read more on @SDA Bocconi Insight: https://lnkd.in/dQQR68pa

I’ve just read Benjamin O'Brien's essay The Leap of Faith and thought it was outstanding. What I like most is that it doesn’t read as a simplistic “everyone should start a company” argument. It speaks directly to a more important and more honest question for commercially-curious researchers: what do I do next, and how far do I want to go? That feels especially timely in Aotearoa New Zealand. At KiwiNet, this is very close to the kaupapa behind our Emerging Innovator programme - it is about identifying researchers with an entrepreneurial spark and fast-tracking them to success. It gives people training, exposure, confidence and mentors. Some Emerging Innovators will go on to start companies. Some will stay within their institutions and become outstanding commercialisers in their own right. Some will help create the conditions for others to succeed. All of those are good outcomes. That is why Ben’s essay resonated so strongly with me. It adds an important complementary piece to the journey: the internal work a researcher has to do when confronting whether founding a company is actually the right next step. Not every opportunity should become a spin-out. Not every researcher should do it alone. And not every commercial pathway leads through company formation. But where a company is the right vehicle, researchers need support to work through the blockers honestly and intelligently, not just a nudge to “be entrepreneurial”. That's where research organisations, TTOs, mentors and the wider ecosystem matter so much. A big idea in Ben’s essay is helping researchers surface what is really holding them back. Andrew Kelly shared with me a related point from his remarks at the recent Biotech Summit - one of New Zealand’s real strengths is that we are unusually good at helping each other. If we lean into that, it becomes more than a nice cultural trait: it becomes a competitive advantage. For me, the challenge is not simply how we create more start-ups. It is how we build a best-in-class commercialisation system: one that gives researchers more agency, backs them with great tech transfer people, creates more two-way doors, brings in co-founders and talent, and supports good judgement about whether to found, partner, license, or stay in the institution. That feels like exactly the conversation New Zealand should be having as the commercialisation elements of our science system reforms begin to take shape, with a stronger focus on empowering and supporting researchers more directly. If we get this right, the aspiration is bigger than a few more spin-outs. It is that Aotearoa becomes the best place in the world to turn great research into real-world impact — because our researchers are exceptional, our opportunities are real, and our collaborative commercialisation ecosystem knows how to help people take the next step. Ben’s essay is linked in the comments — well worth your time. #researchcommercialisation #deeptech #techtransfer #KiwiNet #Aotearoa