'Commercialisation: Bridging the University-Industry Gap' is a research briefing from City-REDI, University of Birmingham. It draws on a project that investigates the rate of spinout creation from UK universities, picking up on the long-held opinion that the UK lags behind the USA in this area. The paper "investigates this long-term, systemic problem of the UK university-industry gap which limits the adoption and diffusion of new technologies".
The project aims to:
- develop a stage-gate product development framework to map the selection mechanisms and drivers for commercialisation pathways of University technologies.
- better-understand the different forms of commercialisation pathways within the University of Birmingham (UoB), the main stakeholders and their incentives, and decision-making factors which influence the selection processes and outcomes.
The research was funded by the ESRC Business Boost Fund, as part of a 12 month programme of work aimed at furthering understanding of the role social sciences can play in the commercialisation of university research and technology. Full information on the project can be found on the City-REDI website.
Whilst the report does not make unexpected recommendations in its conclusions it sheds light on the often complex landscape for research commercialisation and highlights many factors that are often outside the control of a university technology transfer office.
