Innovation Capability and ISO/IEC
15504 innoSPICE –
an European Perspective
Universities as actors in the (regional) innovation system
Dr. Michael Boronowsky
Managing Director Innovation Capability
TZI – Universität Bremen
mb@tzi.de
European Perspective:
Role of Universities as partner in regional development strategies
 Motivation of Universities to participate?
 Expectation of Universities to participate?
 Capabilities of Universities to participate?
What is the Innovation Capability of an University?
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Towards a Efficient Development Strategy
Players within a Region
 Governmental Organisations:
 State Government: Economic Affairs, Science and Education, …
 Business Development
 State Marketing, …
 Companies
 Traditional Business, New Economy,
Start-Ups, Networks, …
Region
 Universities
 Research, Education,
Transfer, …
 Culture
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Towards a Efficient Development Strategy
Players within a Region
 Governmental Organisations:
 State Government: Economic Affairs, Science and Education, …
 Business Development
 State Marketing, …
 Companies
 Traditional Business, New Economy,
Start-Ups, Networks, …
Region
 Universities
 Research, Education,
Transfer, …
 Culture
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Players within a Region
Potential Problem:
University interests:
 Education of Students
 Interesting Research
 Publications
 Research Projects
 Scientific Reputation
 …
Different Interests
Government interests:
 Job Generation
 Increasing tax income
 Acquisition of new Companies
 Reputation of Location
 …
No or only weak
understanding
of a common strategic
goal
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Players within a Region
A Better Way: Think Global – Act Local
Ind.
Focus on Regional
Effects
Own
Interests
Uni.
Region
Definition of a common
understanding and strategy
for the improvement of the
regional situation
Main Focus of Interest
Gov.
…
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Regional Requirements for Universities
Sustainable Research
E.g., a research project at a University




May finance a scientist for some years
May lead to a number of publications
May prototypically demonstrate the feasibility of a concept
May satisfy a scientist or the research community
But external funding has to be understood as investment into the region


Maybe it is not enough only to finance a scientist for a while or to end up with some
publications …
Research results have to be transferred into practical applications
Economic sustainability has to be a major goal
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Regional Requirements for Universities
Universities as Major Attractors for Companies
Government can attract by:
 Offer low cost lots and office space
 Provide Infrastructures like Science
Parks
 Funding of R&D efforts
But
 Weak or no USP
 Hard to establish sustainable
relations
 No deep technological knowledge
University can offer:






Relevant and practical innovations
Operative contacts to companies
Established partner networks
Science as a professional service
Experience in acquiring funding
Well educated and experienced experts in
innovative areas
So
 University has to realize this important
value and take responsibility for it
Being a “High-Tech Region” requires
an active involvement of universities
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Regional Requirements for Universities
Universities as Major Attractors for Companies
Government can attract by:
 Offer low cost lots and office space
 Provide Infrastructures like Science
Parks
 Funding of R&D efforts
But
 Weak or no USP
 Hard to establish sustainable
relations
 No deep technological knowledge
University can offer:






Relevant and practical innovations
Operative contacts to companies
Established partner networks
Science as a professional service
Experience in acquiring funding
Well educated and experienced experts in
innovative areas
So
 University has to realize this important
value and take responsibility for it
Being a “High-Tech Region” requires
an active involvement of universities
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
A well developed Innovation Capability of an
University/Research center influences
•the way knowledge and technologies are
transferred (effectiveness and efficiency)
•How an organization is communicating (internal
and external)
•The reliability as partner in a collaboration
•The degree how internal structures and processes
are aligned towards strategic goals
•Self reflectiveness and organizational learning
•…
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
European Perspective:
Role of Universities as partner in regional development strategies
 Motivation of Universities to participate?
 Expectation of Universities to participate?
 Capabilities of Universities to participate?
How to improve Innovation Capability of an University?
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
A Transfer Model for increase of
innovation capability
 Return of Invest in scientific infrastructures is hard to measure
 e.g. effects of transfer activities within a region
 e.g. patents, licensing v.s. implementation, spinOffs etc.
 Finding suitable indicators for transfer organizations is still an open
issue. Improve Organization only by indicators can optimize unsuitable
capabilities
 Idea: Structure and processes of an organization are related to its
regional effects
 define assessment models and asses organizations
 efficient structure leads to efficient processes and efficient processes lead to
efficient outcomes
 from reactive to proactive mechanism
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Target/Goal
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
To know how and what to
improve in your
organisation, you first have
to know where youTarget/Goal
are
YOU
ARE
HERE
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Informal Feedback on Transfer
own experience
“Gut Feelings”
Lessons Learned
Business/
Society
informal
feedback
University/
Research
•performs
Transfer
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
innoSPICE a Process Reference Model for
Public Research and Transfer Organizations
 A standard based model for innovation, knowledge- and




technology transfer
Based on the Process Assessment Framework ISO/IEC 15504
(SPICE)
The model was evaluated in several Universities, Research,
Transfer and Governmental Organizations
moving technology transfer towards predictable processes
improving transparency and quality of processes inside
organizations
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Structured Feedback
University/
Research
performs
Business/
Society
Transfer
understand
compare
learn
optimize
•Transfer
Transfer
•Transfer
Transfer
•Transfer
Transfer
•activities
activities
•activities
activities
•activities
activities
assessment
•effects
Best Practices
•structured
analyse
•Transfer
•activities
capabilities
professionalization
marketing
efficiency
transparency
trust
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
Example
Visualized Assesment Result
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
innoSPICE facilitates the continuous improvement process of innovation, knowledge
and technology transfer for quality assurance
innoSPICE® Approach
1
2
Participants Identification
&
Model Tailoring
 Identification of participants
relevant to assessment
workshop
 Initial briefing of participants on
innoSPICE assessment method,
assessment scope and goals
 Analysis of organizational
activities and responsibilities
related to innovation & transfer
Scope of innoSPICE Assessment
3
Guided
Self-Assessment
 Conduction of guided
innoSPICE self-assessment
workshop applying the twofold
bottom-up & top-down
assessment method (approx.
3 days)
 Discussion of process
capabilities addressed by
innoSPICE
Benchmarking &
Improvement Measures
 Identification of most significant
gaps to best practice by experts
 Definition of improvement
measures and high-level
implementation roadmap
 Benchmarking of capability
levels against other peers / best
practice
 Determination of capability for
each process discussed
innoSPICE Assessment Report
innoSPICE Improvement Report
Source: innoSPICE ISO 15504
19
Two new projects funded by DAAD
 RAMSES: Raising Management
capacity in Higher Education
InstitutionS (DAAD DIES)
 SATIS: OrganiSATional redesIgn
for reSearch-based learning
 CAIRO University and IRESA
(Tunisia)
 Suez Canal University and Cairo
University
 Establishing mechanisms within  Setting up a ReviTec pilot at SCU
scientific management structures
and establishing a Master of
for continuous improvement of
Ecology
innovation capability
 Improving the integration of
 E.g. 2 pilots at CU to establish
research into teaching
quality assurance based on
 Improve the transfer of knowledge
innoSPICE
and technologies from university to
 E.g. training of innoSPICE
society
assessors inside CU
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability
THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Dr. Michael Boronowsky – mb@tzi.de
Innovation Capability