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Research-based Spin-offs Issues in benchmarking OECD member country performance Workshop Objectives Review of definitions and data available Elaboration of spin-off models/typology Review of strategies and policies for the promotion of spin-offs
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Research-based Spin-offs Issues in benchmarking OECD member country performance Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Workshop Objectives • Review of definitions and data available • Elaboration of spin-off models/typology • Review of strategies and policies for the promotion of spin-offs • Evaluation of spin-offs as indicator of health of public-private interface in NIS Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
TIP Benchmarking Project • Spin-offs are onemeasurable mx of tech transfer b/t public and private sectors • We want to compare performance, but there are methodology challenges: • definitions • data comparability • weighting spin-offs in benchmarking exercise • Country input important to future work Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
What counts as a public research-based spin-off? • No standard definition • Narrow: any new firm which includes a public sector or univ employee as a founder • Broader: employee founders + licensees + firms in which the institution holds equity • Broadest: employees + licensees + equity + students/alumni + incubator firms + other? Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Questionnaire Answers Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Where to draw the line? • Too narrow: undercounts frequency with which countries/institutions generate new firms. • Too broad: distinction b/t public sector spin-offs and high tech start-ups becomes fuzzy. • Definitional consistency needed for OECD Benchmarking study Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Spin-off formation rates • Not regularly monitored by most countries • A handful of countries have national data • Belgium, France, Germany, Norway • obtainable for Canada, UK, US • Institutional or regional v. national data • Yearly formation rates v. cumulative totals • Normalization of rates by researcher, institution, R&D funding Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Type of Data Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Future work (1) • Correspondence with governments to clarify definition and data sent to OECD • Focus on countries w/ national level data • More limited comparisons of countries with institutional or regional data, e.g. growth rates • Cooperation with other projects Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Spin-off typologies • What exactly is exchanged between the public sector and a private spin-off? • Personnel, capital, licenses, physical space, equipment, contacts, know-how and services. • Investments made and returns expected • Options available to public sector institutions: spin-offs by design! • Advantages and disadvantages... Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Policies and Strategies • Funding • Incentives • IP rights allocation, licensing fees and royalties • rewards for entrepreneurship • personal, professional, financial risk reduction • Culture of entrepreneurship • Longer term support structures • finding partners, management & marketing services Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Data on Lifecycles • Sparse information on how spin-offs grow and their long term prospects • Financial needs • Size and structure • Growth and survival rates • Exit strategies • Impressionistic -- spin-offs are small, grow relatively slowly, but survive longer than general population of SMEs Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Future Work (2) • Role of the public sector in financing early stage public sector spin-offs • Data on the initial capital needs and burn rates of spin-offs • What are the funding sources? • What further info on spin-off life-cycles is of interest to member countries? Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)
Spin-offs and Benchmarking • What is so special about spin-offs? • High skilled jobs, new firms, new industries, effect on public research priorities, role as intermediary. • Are spin-offs a necessity for a healthy NIS? • What should countries strive for: • existence of some spin-offs, steady growth rates, balance with other tech transfer mechanisms Technology and Innovation Policy Committee (8 December 1999)