Resolving commercialisation issues at the University - Researcher Founder level

This paper looks at how to pre-empt and, if possible, repair when a commercialisation project goes off the rails.

Sometimes, it has been stated that if all goes well, the University can't speak loud enough about its role, but if the project goes badly, it is speedy to try and wipe its hands off the situation. This is human nature - unfortunately.

It is true that, in some cases, universities might highlight their role in successful projects while distancing themselves from unsuccessful ones.

This can be attributed to a few factors:

1. Reputation management: Universities are concerned about maintaining their reputation and prestige. Associating with successful projects enhances their image while distancing themselves from failures can minimise potential damage to their reputation.
2. Funding and resources: Universities often compete for budget and resources. They can attract more funding, talented researchers, and industry partners by showcasing their successful projects. On the other hand, acknowledging unsuccessful projects might affect their ability to secure future funding.
3. Focus on success: Like many other organisations, universities celebrate and publicise their accomplishments while downplaying or ignoring their failures. This can create a skewed perception of their overall performance and involvement. To address this issue and create a more balanced perspective, universities can adopt the following practices:
4. Transparency and accountability: Universities should be transparent about their involvement in successful and unsuccessful projects, acknowledging the lessons learned from failures and using them to improve future efforts.
5. Support for struggling projects:

Instead of distancing themselves from unsuccessful projects, universities can provide additional support and resources to help turn the situation around, if feasible.

• Encourage a culture of commercial learning: Universities should foster a culture that embraces failures as learning opportunities. By sharing the lessons learned from unsuccessful projects, they can contribute to developing best practices and help researchers avoid similar pitfalls in the future.

• Balanced reporting: Universities should strive for balanced reporting of their commercialisation efforts, accurately showcasing successes and failures to reflect their overall performance.

Best practice would appear to be that the University should "lean in" when problems occur to help them learn valuable lessons for the future and also to create proactive learning for all involved parties.

When problems occur, it is essential for universities to "actively engage" and get involved - demonstrate leadership in finding solutions, learn from the challenges, and support all involved parties.

This approach can have several benefits:

1. Continuous learning: By facing challenges head-on and analysing the reasons behind the problems, universities can extract valuable lessons that can be applied to future projects and improve the overall success rate of their commercialisation efforts.
2. Strengthening partnerships: By actively supporting researchers, industry partners, and other stakeholders during challenging times, universities can build trust and demonstrate their commitment to the project's success, thus fostering more robust and resilient partnerships.
3. Reputation management done better: A proactive approach to problem-solving can showcase the University's dedication to innovation, collaboration, and responsible management, enhancing its reputation in the long run.
4. Encouraging innovation: By providing support during difficult times, universities can create a safer environment for researchers to take risks, learn from their mistakes, and ultimately drive innovation.
5. Developing best practices: Learning from problems and addressing them effectively can help universities establish best practices that can be shared with other institutions, further contributing to the overall success of research commercialisation efforts.

Universities that adopt a proactive approach to problem-solving (instead of the distancing and denial approach) and truly support researchers' start-up stakeholders through the inevitable commercialisation challenges can create a more resilient and innovative environment that benefits everyone involved. This is not radical, but in our experience is uncommon.

By embracing failures as learning opportunities and working together to overcome obstacles, universities can continue to drive innovation and positively impact society.

By adopting these practices, universities can demonstrate their commitment to transparency, accountability, and continuous learning, ultimately creating a more supportive environment for researchers and fostering a culture of greater successful innovation.

Isn't that what authentic leadership is all about? Authentic leadership, in our opinion, is indeed about navigating challenges, learning from them, and supporting others through difficult times.

Effective leadership in the context of universities and research commercialisation involves several key aspects:

1. Vision: True leaders have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and can inspire others to work towards that common goal.
2. Adaptability: Effective leaders are flexible and open to change, recognising that innovation and progress require adaptability to new methods, technologies, or market conditions.
3. Collaboration: True leaders foster a culture of collaboration, bringing together diverse teams of researchers, industry partners, and other stakeholders to work towards a shared objective.
4. Communication: Effective leaders maintain open and transparent communication channels, ensuring that all parties are aligned on goals, expectations, and challenges.
5. Support: True leaders provide the necessary resources, infrastructure, and guidance to help their teams succeed, especially during challenging times.
6. Learning from failure: Effective leaders recognise that failures and setbacks are inevitable and can be valuable learning experiences. Therefore, they encourage a culture that embraces failures as opportunities for growth and improvement.
7. Empowerment: True leaders empower others by providing them with the tools, resources, and autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work.
8. Accountability: Effective leaders hold themselves and others accountable for their actions and decisions, fostering a culture of responsibility and transparency.
9. Developing others: True leaders invest in the growth and development of their teams, providing mentorship, training, and opportunities for professional advancement.
10. Leading by example: Effective leaders model the behaviour and values they expect from others, inspiring trust and confidence through their actions and commitment to the organisation's mission.

With the demonstration of leadership qualities, shouldn't Universities be sharing the failures as well? That is the real world,d and people quickly respect the honesty and courage needed.

The answer is clear - yes - universities should share the failures and successes. Sharing failures can provide valuable insights and lessons learned that can help others avoid similar mistakes in the future. It can also create a more transparent and accountable environment, promoting stakeholder trust and credibility.

There are several ways in which universities can share failures:

1. Case studies: Develop case studies documenting the challenges and failures encountered during commercialisation efforts. This can help identify areas for improvement and provide a learning opportunity for others.
2. Workshops and events: Host workshops sharing failures and lessons learned. This can encourage open and honest dialogue among researchers, industry partners, and other stakeholders.
3. Social media and online platforms: Use social media and other platforms to share stories of failures and how they were overcome. This can help reach a wider audience and provide a valuable resource for those interested in research commercialisation.
4. Collaboration with other universities and organisations: Collaborate with other universities and organisations to share failures and lessons learned. This can create a community of practice that fosters knowledge exchange and mutual learning.

Sharing failures can be challenging, as it requires universities to be vulnerable and transparent about their mistakes. However, doing so can also demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and improvement, which can enhance the University's reputation and credibility in the long run.

Being open about failures and seeking assistance in times of trouble can avoid reputation damage and costly litigation. In addition, a transparent and accountable approach can demonstrate the University's commitment to responsible management, collaboration, and continuous learning.

By providing additional support and resources to help address challenges and failures, universities can create a more supportive environment that fosters innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. This, in turn, can help minimise the risks of reputation damage, litigation, and financial losses.

Moreover, an open and transparent approach can also help build trust and credibility among stakeholders, including researchers, industry partners, investors, and the public. This can lead to stronger partnerships, more effective collaborations, and a more significant societal impact.

Therefore, universities should embrace a culture of transparency, accountability, and continuous learning, actively sharing successes and failures and working collaboratively with researchers and industry partners to address challenges and achieve the best possible outcomes. Another point is the importance of collaboration between universities and industry partners in research commercialisation efforts.

Collaboration can bring significant benefits, including:

1. Access to resources: Industry partners can provide access to valuable resources, such as funding, equipment, and expertise, to help accelerate research commercialisation efforts.
2. Market knowledge: Industry partners have extensive knowledge of market trends, consumer behaviour, and industry standards, which can help researchers develop products and services that meet industry needs.
3. Validation: Collaboration with industry partners can help validate the market potential of research projects, increasing the chances of successful commercialisation.
4. Real-world testing: Industry partners can provide opportunities for real-world testing of research projects, helping researchers refine and improve their products and services.
5. Networking: Collaborating with industry partners can help researchers build valuable relationships, expanding their network of potential partners, investors, and customers.

To foster effective collaboration between universities and industry partners, it is essential to establish clear communication channels, set expectations and goals, and ensure that all parties are aligned on the vision and direction of the project. Universities should also strive to develop mutually beneficial partnerships that prioritise the interests of all stakeholders involved.

Collaboration between universities and industry partners is critical to successful research commercialisation. By leveraging the strengths and resources of both parties, universities can enhance their research output, accelerate commercialisation efforts, and create a meaningful impact on the industry and society as a whole.

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