•  
• Register
•  | Log in |
•  RSS Feed
• 
  
  Search:
  
  
• 

• Categories

  • 2008 Conference (1)
  • Accessibility (37)
  • Assessment (1)
  • Assistive Technology (73)
  • Commercialization (44)
  • Disability (1)
  • Education (116)
  • Implementation (71)
  • Leadership (9)
  • News (85)
  • Research (30)
  • Technology Transfer (9)
  • Universal Design [UD] (20)
  • Videos (18)
    • I Can Soar Video (13)

An Introduction to Commercialization

Tags:Commercialization, Marketing, Technology Transfer

Commercialization, the process of transitioning an idea to a profitable commercial product, can be complicated and challenging. The goal of this site is to walk you through the commercialization process and help you deal with the obstacles you may encounter along the way. The focus is on technology transfer, the sharing of knowledge and resources among universities, companies, and federal entities on the process of commercialization of technology and innovations from research to the marketplace, specifically as it relates to products that serve students with special needs in educational settings.

Of primary importance is affirming that your idea addresses an existing need in the marketplace. This “demand-pull” model means that your product solves a real-world problem. Many “supply-push” projects,those in which a new technology is pushed into the marketplace without an established need,are a waste of time because there is no audience for them. To avoid “pushing” technology, is it important to ensure there are adequate distribution channels to communicate the new technology and that there are not regulatory hurdles that will need to be overcome. In some cases, there are even regulatory incentives or demand is created through regulatory development.

Different ideas will require different routes; for example, it may be best to license your invention to an already existing company, or you may decide to take a bigger risk and create your own company to market your product. Which specific route you decide to take will be unique to your invention and will be based on many factors. With whom should you partner and when? How will you protect your idea? What kind of market research do you need to do, and how do you refine your product? How will you evaluate your product for the best chance of success?

This site describes the core components of commercialization and aims to help university researchers, developers and companies answer the questions you will encounter as you work through the process.

First, after an invention is made, the next step is invention disclosure to the university or company who has provided support for the inventor. Most universities and companies have a process for disclosing an invention; many have disclosure forms for the inventor to detail the invention. This process is internal to an organization, and no information should be publicly disclosed at this time.

Subsequently, you will need to consider how you will protect your idea as intellectual property (IP). Researchers/developers will need to consider who owns their product/idea (company technology developers/independent inventors will have less to worry about in this area) and know how to protect it by keeping careful records. IP can be protected in different ways,by patent, trademark, copyright, or trade secret. You must decide which intellectual property protection is warranted, and if so, which form of protection is needed for your idea, and consider whether or not licensing is an option for your product.

You will also want to consider entering into a partnership to strengthen the chances of your product in the marketplace. Collaborative research projects leverage research funding by capitalizing on the respective strengths of all the organizations involved in the research activity. Ideally, a partnership expands the personnel, equipment, research capabilities, and financial resources available to a project by combining the strengths of both parties involved. There may also be government participation in project funding. You will want to think about the timing of partnerships, how partnerships have changed over time, the importance of nondisclosure agreements, and the specific benefits and challenges you may face when teaming with a partner.

Market research is another essential part of the commercialization process. Primarily, it provides a researcher/developer with information that helps him or her identify marketing opportunities and address problems that may arise in the marketing process.

Primary market research techniques, such as focus groups, surveys, and usability tests, help a researcher/developer gather information about the viability of his or her specific products and how to hone it for the marketplace. Secondary market research takes advantage of research previously collected and published by other people, from sources such as published professional journals, conference papers and presentations, trade shows, large-scale databases (e.g., the U.S. census), mailing lists, reference books, product literature, catalogs, newspapers and magazines, and the Internet. Both primary and secondary market research are discussed in this section.

Once your product has been brought to market, it is important to continue to evaluate and refine its effectiveness and make any necessary changes in order to facilitate continuous improvement. This may require further design work, prototyping, testing, and regulatory approval. Measuring and tracking the performance of your project is an essential component of the technology transfer process. Evaluation can help increase product quality, and establish that your program/product’s effectiveness is grounded in scientifically-based research.

No matter who is involved or what the area of interest, commercializing innovations is a process with a beginning point and an endpoint. In between there are milestones which determine if the process is or is not progressing. Understanding the complex issues involved and systematically achieving each milestone will give your product the best chance of success in the marketplace.