Lean Commercialisation – reimagining the university business development process.

A research-intensive university will produce dozens if not hundreds of commercial opportunities each year, each of them different. All aspects of the process that supports commercialisation of university research are usually handled by a small team of business development managers supported by the Legal Office. For a business development manager, it is challenging to be an expert on the range of opportunities that comes across their desk. A potential solution would be to tap into a university’s external stakeholders – alumni, entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors, many of which are subject-matter experts in their own right. Universities should see these experts as complementary to their existing commercialisation activities through the following mechanisms:

1) by providing a platform similar to the Innovation Soapbox model, that has been discussed previously (LINK);

2) Develop an Entrepreneur in Residence Program (EiRs). Some universities in Australia already use EiRs; we would recommend expanding these programs, actively supported by the university, to ensure outcomes from their expertise and networks are maximised.  

Borrowing loosely from both Lean and Agile Methodology, this approach involves a series of commercialisation sprints and ends when the opportunity(s) finds a path to market which may be as a new venture or through some form of deal with an established industry partner. In contrast to Lean Methodology, the goal is not “perfection” or to maximise return on investment; the goal is impact. University research rarely achieves commercial impact in its own right, this is usually achieved through partnering with or licensing to Industry or perhaps creating a spinout. In this regard universities should be seen as intellectual property factories, effectively helping our industries remain relevant and viable through continuous waves of innovation. One of the biggest hurdles for universities has been finding suitable partners to help commercialise their research whether that be industry or investor. Given the diversity of research generated in our universities, we require an equally diverse partnering ecosystem.  How does one create an open dialogue with so many potential partners?   The Soapbox Model and extensive use of EiRs both represent rapid commercialisation models that could be part of the solution. In effect, it is parallel (rather than serial) commercialisation. This solution does not preclude the need for business development teams which will still be essential for supporting and closing each agreement. 

These virtual commercialisation teams do not necessarily come for free, an incentive scheme may need to be considered. This in turn may create new risks for the university that must be managed. However we would suggest that what you lose in incentives and perhaps additional administration load is more than compensated by with improved outcomes.