Technology, Knowledge Intermediation

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Notes for Stake Holders

Often I refer about this important requirement for all

  1. those involved in R&D in laboratories or Universities or Colleges (IITs),
  2. those involved in technology transfer (whether through new R&D, or through technology purchases or technology licensing - it will also apply to the recent phenomenon of acquisition of companies for acquisition of technologies),
  3. those in Industry/Business (agriculture, manufacturing or services sector) interested in modernising their businesses and creating competitive strengths for their businesses;
  4. venture capitalists, bankers and Govt. fund managers like Technology Development Board (TDB) and Department of Science & Technology (DST), who fund innovation projects and would like to ensure that the projects they fund are successful and the risks are minimised;
  5. industry associations who like to provide specialised services to their members to modernise themselves to face global competition and
  6. those in government agencies/departments responsible for creating ecosystems for innovation and also for developing indigenous capabilities in various institutions to make themselves innovative.
Slide 1
Title
Slide 2
Briefly describes about Technology Intermediation - those interested to know more, please refer to the book which have two chapters on it.
Slide 3
Is the crucial imagery which explains it. I call it as Funnel of Uncertainty - anything innovative; anything that involves change from the existing situation (even though those changes have been mastered by others in the world long ago - your change is your problem !!).
Let us explain the graph a little more.
  1. At the point shown 'O' is where we are t = 0 Time is zero as in the 'Space language' style.
  2. You sit at t=0 and look at the axis and has an idea or clarity or desire to have the product in market (it may be a new agricultural product, grain, vegetable, fish, poultry or animal product or manufactured product or a service say software, software service, or a film or educational contents or a highway design or infrastructure projects or new trade etc. any of the business which can give you a good profitable or prestigious position).
  3. That product in market may be in 6 months or 1 year or 3 years or even 5 years i.e. t = 6 months; t = 1 years or 3 or 5 years.
  4. Any normal human being would like to go from t = 0 to t = the time of product without any uncertainties, with very little risks and with surety.
  5. But life is much more complex. There is no clear pre-determined path from t = 0 to t = final destination. It is a complex and often chaotic movement.
  6. The upper axis above t = 0 says, Technology, Knowledge Uncertainties; the lower axis says Business, Market Uncertainties. One could add more axes like Socio-Cultural Uncertainties (as with agitations in Singur, Nandigram etc) or Policy Uncertainties, Uncertainties of infrastructure or power availability etc.
  7. But one can use these two axis to dump all these specific uncertainties.
  8. At time t = 0 when we have the ambition to launch the product at t = x (1/2 or 1 or 2 or 5 years), we face the two major sets of uncertainties shown by these two axis.
  9. Technology/Knowledge uncertainties are as important as Business/Market uncertainties. If we try to concentrate on items from only one axis ignoring the other, as time progresses, we will have problem.
  10. At t = 0 both are roughly equally uncertain.
  11. If we can bring together all those who are involved in items of both axes (stakeholders and also specialist experts on these issues, then we can move all of them together down in the timelane through the uncertainty funnel.
  12. If you look at the funnel, the progress through the funnel cannot be due to efflux of time.
  13. One has to do a number of knowledge-intensive exercises such as technology forecasting, technology assessment, knowledge surveys, market surveys, business aspects etc.
  14. When these exercises and corresponding knowledge sharing between experts and stake holders take place, then the uncertainties reduce; the funnel moves through greater certainty as time progresses.
  15. When the uncertainties reduce considerably, the project can launch as indicated in the slide.
  16. Then the project moves forward with much greater certainty and with lesser risk.
  17. This whole process of going from t = 0 to t = project launch is called technology & knowledge intermediation.
Slide 4
Describes the role of T&K intermediation and the role of State especially in the context of Globalisation.
Slide 5
Shows briefly about Israel Experience which has transformed its people and their ideas into globally competitive enterprises. I have only mentioned a few points. A lot more are available in the reports of Samuel Neaman Institute Report
Slide 6
Gives some of the actual experiences of Indians. There are too many acronyms.

Please refer the websites of TI-FAC and DST (Department of Science & Technology).

The full presentation can be downloaded here