The missing fourth wheel of the research virtual cycle

Innovation ecosystems are complex organisms designed to advance new ideas that are useful. They attempt to bridge the knowledge economy with the commercial economy. Biomedical and health innovation ecosystems typically include several parts of the two systems.

They include 8 basic parts:

basic researchers

service providers

investors

entrepreneurs

industry

public economic development agencies

care providers

patients

Like an 8 man skull, everyone is supposed to be pulling the oars in the same direction. Unfortunately, too many parts of the knowledge economy have a hard time connecting to the commercial economy and the result is failure to create impact from basic research. The three parts of the academic mission are teaching, research and patient care.

The tricycle is driven by the clinical care front wheel which creates most of the money to subsidize the other two. To further innovation and create products and services that might have usefulness, however, there needs to be another wheel driving potential commercialization or value creation i.e. technology transfer.

An ecosystem is a group of firms linked through non-generic complementarities, or investments in mutual adaptation. Ecosystem members have to coordinate to create a unique value proposition for the consumer. This value proposition would not exist without an underlying ecosystem.

There is a difference between an ecosystem and a platform.

Clustermapping.us defines clusters as: A?regional concentration of related industries. Clusters exist where the economic activities in a set of related industries in a given location reach critical mass.

• They serve markets in other regions or nations.
• They are concentrated in regions that afford specific competitive advantages.
• Example industries: aircraft manufacturing, management consulting, and iron ore mining.

The talk around ecosystems is often with regards to entrepreneurial ecosystems or innovation ecosystems. These are cultures and ways of thinking and doing.In biology an ecosystem is defined as: Community together with its environment, functioning as a unit.The National Science Foundation defines an innovation ecosystem as:? Entities in a community whose functional goal is to enable technology development and innovation.

Many basic science and academic research trade and professional associations are not listening. Instead, they persist in holding meetings that display basic research findings exclusively to exclusion of the commercial economy. In the meantime, their members, particularly younger graduates and students are demanding a value proposition that goes beyond that. Sure they want the knowledge. More importantly, they want jobs or they want to create their own. They want to get connected to industry, investors, doctors and others in the ecosystem.

Basic science and engineering societies run the risk of making themselves irrelevant if they dont satisfy the needs of younger members. The sooner they attach that fourth wheel and make it crank, the more value they will create and thrive.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs on Substack