The exploitation of results is an activity whose importance is sometimes underestimated. As Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, we are responsible for all exploitation activities, that is, all innovation management– elated tasks within FUSILLI. With this blog article, we will explain why exploitation should be considered more strongly and what would be a good strategy for impact.
Our “exploitation of FUSILLI’s results” is intended to focus on the development of user-optimised outcomes from the project to multiply the impact and uptake of the proposed solutions to fully exploit their potential for further use. To this end, the exploitation strategy developed by Steinbeis Europa Zentrum provides a summary of the project, an overview of the main exploitation outcomes to be delivered and the latest proposals on how the consortium partners intend to use and promote these outcomes to encourage their uptake during and after the implementation of the lifetime of the project.
This process relies on innovation management throughout the whole project duration. By innovation management, we mean the process of continuously monitoring project outcomes to best protect them and maximise their impact on the market. With the innovation management plan, we can secure the Intellectual Property (IP) foundation, ensure that all IP concerns are captured in the consortium agreement and that everyone has access to the partner background to carry out the project tasks. The innovation management process will enable all partners to better understand, address and secure the non-protected foreground, interpret market needs, understand the geographical potential of the foreground, and adequately protect the results. We believe that this plan guarantees real use during the project and beyond.
To streamline all exploitation activities within the project, a dedicated Exploitation Manager (EM) works closely together with all FUSILLI partners. Within FUSILLI, the EM Dr. Dilay Kesten Erhart and her associate Elke Weidenfelder are officially managing this process during the project lifetime. Overall, the Exploitation Manager shall:
- Prepare the master plan for the exploitation strategy
- Coordinate the implementation of exploitation activities
- Contribute to proper exploitation of the results by assisting partners to prepare adequate Action Plans and Business Plans to maximise the impact of exploitable results
- Monitor the delivery and impact of exploitation measures.
To maximise their potential impact, each Exploitable Result will be subjected to the development of the FUSILLI Exploitation Strategy. It is to be used by all partners to promote and exploit the project results and solutions and its outcomes at the local, national, and international levels. Within the 12 Living Labs, the Exploitation Strategy, as well as the tools, materials and channels developed, are used for making the project well known, especially among the citizens of the demonstration areas. The aim is to bring innovations developed within FUSILLI – with the support of the European Commission – to the market, so that others in Europe an beyond can benefit from our work as well.
Authors: Dr. Dilay Kesten Erhart, Elke Weidenfelder (Steinbeis Europa Zentrum)
Picture: Unsplash