Stay Ahead of the Curve: Why Every Business Needs Tech Scouting & Transfer to Thrive

Why is it so hard to build and maintain the capacity to scale breakthrough technologies and innovations?

Tech scouting and transfer is about much more than simply scouting technology and handing over tech know-how from one organisation to another or transferring tech from R&D to commercial manufacturing. It's about translating complex concepts from one industry or discipline into something that makes sense - and deliver results - in a completely different environment. It could be a new process from manufacturing applied to life sciences or biotech space, or a green energy solution from agriculture making its way into urban infrastructure.

Despite massive investments in corporate innovation or startup labs to build new ventures and test emerging technologies that would drive growth, several companies are shutting down these activities. Why don't these initiatives deliver on their promise?

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Understanding Tech Scouting & Transfer: More Than Just Moving Ideas

While tech scouting and tech transfer often go hand in hand, they serve different roles in the innovation work. Tech scouting is about discovery – it's the proactive search for emerging technologies, trends, and opportunities that could benefit the organisation. It's like being a detective for innovation, keeping an eye on what's happening in various industries, academia, deep tech-startups, or even across industrial borders. In this role, I spend time networking, researching, and evaluating potential solutions that can address the challenges an organisation faces.

On the other hand, tech transfer is more about execution. Once a promising technology is identified, the tech transfer process is what brings it into reality and turns it into a working solution. This involves not only adapting the technology to fit our needs but also navigating the legal, intellectual property (IP), and commercialization hurdles that come with adopting external innovations.

While tech scouting focuses on looking outward and identifying what's next, tech transfer is the inward process of making those discoveries work within an organisation or ecosystem.

Bridging the Gap Between Science & Practice: Paving the Way for New Markets and Technologies

Without tech scouting, there wouldn't be a pipeline of ideas and discoveries to transfer. And without tech transfer, those exciting discoveries would remain ideas on paper, never turning into real-world solutions. I often wear both hats, guiding the process from the initial identification of promising technologies through to the successful implementation, ensuring the ideas don't just stay ideas – they become results.

A tech scout and a transfer lead are always looking for areas where we can do better.

What makes this exciting is that tech scouting and transfer rarely follows a straight line. It's fluid and dynamic, often moving in unexpected directions. My role is to help navigate that complexity, connecting the dots between disciplines and making sure that knowledge and technology move smoothly across borders – whether that's between universities, deep tech startups, corporate companies, or innovation districts.

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Tech Scouting, Transfer, and Transformation in Practice

It's time for businesses to adapt to a new technology reality driven by advanced technologies like robots, AI, autonomous systems, and quantum to unlock the greatest potentials to create a better future in the years ahead.

Understanding the emerging technology landscape and these new opportunities can provide a competitive edge and help businesses diversify business models and services. A great technology and innovation strategy helps you to scale your business by:

New knowledge creation – Get in the habit of paying attention to ecosystems around your industry and engage in new collaborations with deep tech-startups and innovators.

Funding for the future – Secure the resources and financials to bring the opportunities to life.

Commercialization – Turn the technology into a viable product or service. Get sales on the program or project early in development.

Identify your goals – Before you can achieve success, you will have to define what success means to you. Define KPIs that are matching your projects with a high-level of uncertainty.

While it may take months or years to realise what you want to transform or change with your business, identifying your resources, culture, and ecosystems will help your organisation scale innovation to new heights.

A tech scout and transfer lead are always looking for areas where we can do better. But transformation or change isn't about coming in with a wrecking ball – it's about respecting the skills and culture of everyone involved. As a scout and consultant, my goal is to challenge the status quo in a way that makes sense for the organisation (small business or big corporation), bringing forward fresh ideas while working closely with colleagues and stakeholders. It's about finding that balance between pushing for improvement and honouring what's already working.

Your path to success can take many forms. It often involves moving technology and knowledge across various internal departments and a wide range of external stakeholders.

Do you have an inspiring experience from working with emerging technologies and innovations? Then let me know.