Pim de Bokx, chairman of the Dutch Incubation Association and entrepreneur, discusses the development of business incubators in the Netherlands and initiatives to support SME innovation, including innovation vouchers and the SBIR program. The document outlines the accomplishments of the BVIT cluster incubators in fostering entrepreneurship, improving survival rates, and generating venture funding. It also emphasizes the importance of active collaboration between research institutions and SMEs to facilitate knowledge transfer and commercialization of technologies.

1. Encouraging Business
to obtain goods/services/technologies from research
Pim de Bokx
Chairman DIA – Dutch Incubation Association
Initiator of Pioneerz Partnership

2. Pim de Bokx
2
– Entrepreneur since my 20th
– Several companies and organizations founded
– Education in Landscape architecture and Business Science
– Started private BViT innovation network in 2000 with 2
partners and 1 VC, developing 6 incubators over time:
Delft, Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam, Den Helder,
Noordwijk.
– Developer XLX game based entrepreneurship training.
– Chairman DIA (Dutch Incubation Association)
– Owner of Huygens-XC, Expertise Centre on
Entrepreneurship Development and Business Incubation.
– Founder Pioneerz Partnership to enable the
PioneersSociety: “managing the risk to dramatically
improve”

3. 3
PIONEERZ

4. BViT ClusterIncubation formula
Attract and develop cluster of complementary
businesses
Market
Thematic
Clusterincubator
Knowledge
Source
exploitationapplicationknowledge
pmc
pmc pmc
pmc
pmc
pmc

5. Characteristics
• Low entry level: combining with co-working
• Entry policy involves start-ups already in the
program
• Entrepreneurial management; generating
projects and business opportunities
• Active support/innovation network
• Pre-incubation program through training and
online business plan wizard i.c.w. Universities
• Post-incubation through innovation club and
events

6. Advantages of BViT formula
• Efficient: High output – low costs, 800 m2 for
early stage of which 50% ‘open space’
• Effective: average incubation period 1,8 yrs
• Value creating: high level of joint projects,
joint ventures and mergers, average attraction
of 1,8 million in venture funding/yr

7. Performance
• Jobs generated: 2 per start-up/ year
• Select av. 13 start-ups per year
• 93% survival rate after 3 years
• 86% receive external funding within 3 years
• 24% growth potential
• 12% sold to larger company in 5 years

8. Development timeline
2000 First BViT ClusterIncubator in Delft – YES!Delft
2001 Award: ‘Best New Business Incubator in the World’
2003 BViT ClusterIncubator The Hague - Caballerofabriek
2006 Award: ‘Beste Science Based Incubator of Europe’
2008 New Energy Docks Amsterdam
2009 MCN incubator Den Helder
2009 Cleantech incubator Rotterdam
2010 ESA Business Incubation Centre Noordwijk
2011 UKBI ‘International Business Incubation Champion’
2012 Innovation grant for incubation management suite
2014 BViT ClusterIncubator available as soft-franchise

9. Experience with Knowledge
Transfer
• Knowledge is in the brain: talent scouting nr. 1
• Technology has to be developed and tested:
offer good access to university resources
• University course ‘turn technology into
business’
• Organise technology & application events
• Support use of techtransfer instruments like
InnovationVoucher and Innovation
Performance Contracts

10. Encouraging Business
to obtain goods/services/technologies from research
Innovation Auction

11. INNOVATION AUCTION
• event & service to attract SME's to knowledge
and technology from R&D institutes putting
knowledge & technology in a SME focused
showroom to attract new commercialization
partners
• 'auction' is a understood open matching system.
The first right to negotiate is being auctioned.
• is different from IP-auctions that sell off patent
technology (not just the right to negotiate) to
professional buyers.

12. DO
1. put a lot of effort in marketing to SME-entrepreneurs
2. create awareness with accessible show cases and
demonstrations and an online bid-book in the months
leading up to the auction
3. organize an exhibition right before the auction
4. disclose relevant due diligence information on each piece at
the auction
5. register all bidders and check their credentials
6. make available in which way the rights on the
knowledge/technology are available for commercialization
7. support entrepreneurs in the follow-up, since the probably
have no experience in negotiating for technology transfer
8. make the auction ‘live’ available through internet

13. DON’T
1. accept complex knowledge/technology, use an
sme-panel to reference
2. expect to much from the start, you need time to
experiment: to find appropriate
knowledge/technology and learn how to reach
SME's.
3. make barriers, like registration and pricing, to
high.
4. exclude professional buyers
5. exclude closed bids (bids from buyers that are
only known to the auctioneers)

14. TIPS
1. experiment with royalty based
technology transfer to lower upfront
investment for SME's
2. set up co-finance fund to support
funding of the buy-in of
knowledge/technology from the auction

15. Encouraging Business
to obtain goods/services/technologies from research
Innovation Vouchers

16. INNOVATION VOUCHERS
• Dutch Invention 2002
• grant < € 10.000
• to buy knowledge from R&D institutions to
enable SME innovation
1. to build relationships between SME's and
(public/private) Research
2. to enable knowledge transfer
3. act as catalyst for long term formation of
cooperative models

17. DO
1. advertise availability and criteria large scale
2. make easy online application; ask for practical
problem to be solved
3. use simple to understand grant criteria for the
allocation of vouchers, also a lottery can help.
4. once the innovation voucher is granted, use
online tools to help find appropriate R&D
supplier
5. use a time limit to the use of the voucher 6-12
months
6. ask for simple reporting.

18. DON’T
1. distribute administration to universities
2. operate the government agency at arms
length. active brokering between R&D
institutes and SME's is essential for
success.
3. exclude innovation consultants and
subsidy advisors to mediate and support
SME's, they will look for long term
possibilities.

19. TIPS
1. monitor and evaluate
2. top up the scheme with larger vouchers
which are part of a 'National Challenge' f.i.
‘2014 New Energy Challenge Moldavia’
3. find follow-on opportunities to create
awareness among SME's for other Innovation
Schemes like SBIR, Innovation Auction,
European R&D programs

20. Encouraging Business
to obtain goods/services/technologies from research
SBIR

21. Small Business Innovation
Research program - SBIR
1. scheme that forces research institutions to
involve SME's in their 'pre-commercial' applied
research, typically 2-3% of their research
budget.
2. mechanism to involve SME's in solving issues
government and society face
3. to help SME's innovate where investors wouldn't
immediately see the ROI
4. SME's keep the IP developed in the project,
government retains a royalty-free use for a
period (almost never used)

22. SBIR setup 3 phases
1. Feasibility study (6 mth):
up to € 100.000
2. R&D contract (2 yr): up to € 750.000
3. Commercialization: other funding like
'Innovation Credit'

23. DO
1. setup competitive tender process
2. organize the award board as an independent body to
ensure transparent granting of assignments
3. set high standards, approx. 15% of proposals is
awarded
4. facilitate links with funding lines from private
investors and banks which will help identify
commercial viability and SME quality
5. deliver the program wide and sizable; ensuring a wide
number of involved SME's
6. ensure flexibility and performance delivery of the
program

24. DON’T
1. condone lobbying with award board; regular
participation of underperforming SME's would be the
result
2. accept lack of motivation with government agencies,
SBIR outcomes will be very low
3. design long cycle application process (> 6 mth), the
SME's cash flow could not be able to sustain that.
4. forget to monitor performance
5. forget to help commercialization efforts after SBIR
6. focus on industrial sectors already receiving a lot of
venture capital

25. TIPS
• Look at SBIR as a procurement
instrument. This takes into account the
ultimate beneficiaries, which is a
government agency or groups in society.
• ‘Customer Satisfaction' should be part of
the evaluation process.

26. Thank You
Ing. P.M. (Pim) de Bokx BSc.
CPO of Pioneerz Partnership
+31(0)654 247 268
+31(88)2848600
pim@pioneerz.com
www.pioneerz.com
http://nl.linkedin.com/in/pimdebokx
Partnerships
• DIA (Dutch Incubation Association),
• EBN/Quality Auditor EBN
• ESA Business Incubation Centres
• GNBI (Global Network of Business Incubation)
Managing the risk to dramatically improve