5. How to get there?
• Understanding an Entrepreneur
• Understanding the needs of the market
• Clarify Research
• Simplify Bureaucracy
• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you
• IPR
6. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
HEI – SME interaction in applied research is an essential tool in
the context of knowledge transfer
Possible obstacles:
• Structural differences
• Different goals
• Different ways to get there
• Systematical differences
7. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
Social implications for troubleshooting:
• Trust
• Professionalism
• Awareness
• Commitment
8. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-
To work together with SME it is important to get a sense of their
decision processes
Matrix Organisation Hierarchy
Management
Management
Sales Buying Center Logistics
Private
Customers Sales Buying Center Logistics
Business
Clients
Intern
9. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-
Most SMEs have very limited capital, human or financial. They
are very time-constrained
• Time is money
• Understaffed SME‟s.
• Management unable to delegate.
• Competitive pressure.
10. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-
Being your own boss is a dream of every company owner.
Unfortunately it is to remain that way– merely a dream
… Competitors
(local)
Customers
Government
Banks and
other Media &
finance Community
sources
NGOs
11. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-
Pragmatism might be the word – and the key!
What to expect from an SME:
• The key driver-financial benefit
• Reasonable timeframes
• Owner/manager holds multiple
responsibilities
• Intimidated by legalese
• Impatient
12. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-
SME‟s are a very interesting partner for your research
• SME owner/managers are pragmatic
• “Real world” players
• They are used to disappointment
• Firm, but fair
• They value honesty
13. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-
• SME owner/managers are intuitive
• SME owner/managers can make decisions quickly
• SMEs are very agile
• Usually prepared to embrace new ideas
14. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
- Summary – Understanding an SME-
• Many SMEs have very limited capital, human or
financial.
• Time is literally money – 6 months is forever
15. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Summary – Understanding an SME-
• Outside pressures can shipwreck an SME e.g. bank,
Increasingly return has to be within a timeframe that
an SME can justify to banks and investors
16. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Summary – Understanding an SME-
Multi-tasking!
(Finance Director, marketeer,
researcher....)
17. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Summary – Understanding an SME-
• Operate in an extremely competitive environment
• Often obsessed about protecting IPR
18. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Summary – Understanding an SME-
• Usually strong connection to particular region – may
be culturally constrained
19. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Summary – Understanding an SME-
• Entrepreneurs can be intimidated by legalese
21. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Summary – Understanding an SME-
• Entrepreneurs are impatient (so make boundaries
clear from the outset)
22. How to get there?
• Understanding an Entrepreneur
• Understanding the needs of the market
• Clarify Research
• Simplify Bureaucracy
• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you
• IPR
23. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Understanding the needs of the market-
Customer needs are a part of innovation. This is called market
orientation – or if you are an SME: Surviving.
• The Market
• The Customers
• Innovation
24. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Understanding the needs of the Market-
Trust and communication
• HEIs don„t understand the Current Market
• Trust the SME
• SMEs have to Communicate
• SMEs must Convey
25. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Understanding the needs of the Market-
• Narrow thinking in businesses
• SME focuses on what makes them excited
• As an SME grows in size, the more difficult it becomes to be
innovative
• The collaboration of a HEI and SME better satisfies the market!
http://academicearth.org/lectures/innovate-in-technology-and-business-founding-
google
26. How to get there?
• Understanding an Entrepreneur
• Understanding the needs of the market
• Clarify Research
• Simplify Bureaucracy
• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you
• IPR
27. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Clarifying Research-
Changing research practices.
• Distinction
• Increasing tension
• Emphasis on research teams and
alliances
• Growth of research
commercialization
28. How to get there?
• Understanding an Entrepreneur
• Understanding the needs of the market
• Clarify Research
• Simplify Bureaucracy
• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you
• IPR
29. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-
There is a subtext in current technology transfer policies and the
media
• Universities not well informed
• Not sufficiently focused
• Pre-disposition towards US solution/
methods
30. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-
• Taking a proactive, outreaching role
• HEIs can be very intimidating for SME‟s
• R & D should be established.
• R & D involved in collaboration.
• Establish a visible “entry point”
• Guide SMEs
31. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-
• Given that research practices are
changing and the pressures to deliver
significant outputs are intensifying,
“[t]he key question is how to structure
and organise teaching and research in
the universities” (Gibbons et al, 1994).
32. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-
• Build strategic alliances and enable synergies
• Help with public funding
• Integrate entrepreneurial culture
• Shape what should be done
• Optimal use of scarce resources
• Align institutional competencies
33. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-
• Map priorities and competences
• Identify goals and objectives
• Implementation plan
• Appropriate structures
• Encourage faculty
34. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-
• Widen definition of research.
• Determine the teaching and research
• Distinguishing
• Linking research/ commercialization
35. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
-Simplify HEI Bureaucracy-
• Greater research time
• Targeted grants
• Promotional opportunities
• Enhanced facilities
• Internships with industry or other
partners
• Salary increases
• Sabbatical leave
36. How to get there?
• Understanding an Entrepreneur
• Understanding the needs of the market
• Clarify Research
• Simplify Bureaucracy
• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you
• IPR
37. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
- What an entrepreneur offers you -
• Prepared to embrace new ideas (but only if the benefits are obvious)
38. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
- What an entrepreneur offers you -
• Intuition for what has commercial potential and what hasn’t
39. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
- What an entrepreneur offers you -
• Pragmatism:
• Can handle disappointment
• Can make decisions quickly
40. How to get there?
• Understanding an Entrepreneur
• Understanding the needs of the market
• Clarify Research
• Simplify Bureaucracy
• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you
• IPR
41. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
- Intellectural Property (IP) -
• What is Intellectual Property?
• What rights do I have concerning IP?
• And what is an IP Agreement?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvWEvkom-8s&feature=related
42. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
- Intellectural Property (IP) -
An essential aspect of collaboration with a SME is working
together with them in protecting your innovations.
• Be knowledegable
• Establishing a commercialised
relationship
• The process
43. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
- Intellectural Property (IP) -
• Substantial confidentiality agreements
• Seem to exclusively focus on protecting the HEI
• SMEs can‟t always afford to appoint solicitor specialists
44. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
- Intellectural Property (IP) -
• Entrepreneurs:
– Are often reluctant to open up and share ideas (Crown
Jewels)
– Need to be reassured that they will benefit - building a
trusting relationship is essential
45. Challenges of Collaboration with SME
- Intellectural Property (IP) -
• Entrepreneurs are:
– Easily spooked
– Turned off by weighty confidentiality agreements
– Suspicious that agreements will favour the HEI to their
detriment
– often unwilling to appoint specialists to check agreements
46. Summary of Presentation
HEI benefits: Posed challenges:
-Extra income -Structural differences
-Seed money -Different goals
-Different ways to get there
-Better teaching
-Systematical differences
-Satisfaction of work
47. End Results
Everybody‟s happy…
•Highly qualified personnel
•Wonderful innovation systems
48. End Results
• Commercialization of Research
• Publication Opportunities
• Legitimacy
• Image
• Public Funding
The type of collaboration and results we are striving for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leh74zliLyw