Researchers play a crucial role within the process of technology transfer and awards are a good way to acknowledge their activity and reward some of them accordingly. Some technology transfer offices have set up award ceremonies, which combine both financial and academic incentives. Created in 2000, the Technology Transfer Award of the University Paris-Sud 11 consists in a financial prize for researchers working on projects with outstanding transfer potential. After eight editions, results are clearly positive and the initiative contributed to raise awareness on technology transfer in the researcher’s community. www.FITT-for-Innovation.eu

1. Award for Transfer Projects
FITT
– Fostering Interregional Exchange in ICT Technology Transfer –
www.FITT-for-Innovation.eu
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2. Award for Transfer Projects in a few words
 The “prix de la valorisation” was created in 2000 by the University Paris-Sud 11
 Awards for researchers working on projects with outstanding transfer potential
 Goals:
 Demonstrate that there is no discrepancy between high-level research
and technology transfer
 promote technology transfer among the research community
 More upstream than other foreign technology transfer awards : focuses only on
technologies not yet transferred.
Credit: Microsoft Office
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3. Who can apply to the award?
Criteria for eligible applicants:
 Researchers, teachers-researchers, engineers, technicians and PhD
with a contractual relationship with the university
 Only one representative per project. If the project involves a team, a
project leader must be identified.
1 person + 1 project = 1 application
Credit: Microsoft Office
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4. What kind of projects are expected?
Criteria for eligible projects are:
 Innovative technology close to transfer but not transferred yet
 Research project with strong technology transfer potential
 Protection of Intellectual Property must have been initiated
beforehand
 A research project which has received a similar award/grant can not
apply
Credit: Microsoft Office
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5. How much ?
Until 2006
 Award funded by the University and the local authorities
 3 financial prizes of 6 000 Euros for each three awarded researchers
Since 2008
 Award funded by the University
 3 financial prizes of 3 000 Euros for each three awarded researchers
 1 financial prize of 40 000 euros for one research project, to support the
maturation of the project.
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6. When?
 9 editions of the Award have been organized
 Before 2006 : one edition per year
 Since 2008 : extension of the time between 2 editions to
18 months.
18 months seems an appropriate delay to ensure a high
number of proposals for every edition of the
Technology Transfer Award
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7. Where?
 All 9 editions of the Technology Transfer Award have been organized in the
university premises.
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8. Organisation of the award
 The following stakeholders are involved :
 Applicants to the award : 15 to 20 project leaders... and their team
 Jury : 10 to 12 persons
 Staff of the university:
- staff of the TTO (Service d’Activités Industrielles et Commerciales) :
- Technology transfer officers : 2 persons. Supervision of the award (organisation &
ceremony), proposition of experts for the jury, follow-up of the awarded projects
- Administrative team : 1 person (part-time)
- Top management :
- The Scientific Council
- The President of the university
- Communication service : 1 person (part-time) to provide press release,
communication within university and towards institutional partners
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9. Organisation of the award
Credit: Microsoft Office
Follow-up of the winning projects
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10. Organisation of the award
1) Preliminary application
 electronic application file (download on the webpage of the technology transfer
office)
 only little information requested :
 name of the project leader
 project’s name
 short summary
 This step is essential to :
 verify the eligibility of the project applicants and the research projects
 define the composition of the jury
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11. Organisation of the award
2) Final application
 Positioning of the project:
 2 months later. information on collaborations with
industrial partners for the project
 More information requested : field(s) of application
current status of the project (testing,
 General information on the project
prototyping...)
title
transfer strategy
name of the project leader and its
list of the contacts needed and actions
employer
considered to achieve this strategy
name of the laboratory involved
forecast for the maturation of the project
 Summary (budget, resource, calendar)
 Contact information of the main author information about competitors and
and other authors market
Technical description of the project:  Intellectual property
identification of the scientific field list of publications and public
summary of the prior art presentations related to the project
presentation of the final goal and added- list of patent registered (or trademark,
value of the project software protection) related to the project
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12. Organisation of the award
3) Selection
 External jury : usually includes representatives of industries,
incubators, national or regional agencies for innovation.
 Composition must be approved by the President of the university.
 Experts in accordance with scientific themes that arose in the pre-
applications.
 Risk of conflicts of interests in the jury, composed of industrial
experts.
 As a consequence, progressive shift in the composition of the jury
Credit: Microsoft Office
from industrial experts to representatives of “institutional
“organisations (local incubator, national agency for innovation)
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13. Organisation of the award
4) Decision & Ceremony
 Each candidate is informed by mail/ sms about the results.
 Organisation of ceremony, during which the 3 laureates received their prize.
 Publication of the laureates : information board, university’s website and press
release.
5) Follow-up
 The TTO follows the maturation of the research project performed by the laureates
 The TTO guide them throughout the transfer process, in partnership with the
regional incubator
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14. Pros & Cons
PRO’s CON’s
 Motivation for researchers to engage in  The number of applications must be
technology transfer (financial reward and a sufficient to ensure a high quality selection.
well-recognized academic distinction)
 Potential risk of conflicts of interests if the
 Strong sign to both research community jury is composed of industrial experts.
and external stakeholders that research isn’t
contradictory with economical valorization
 The award is a way to complement the
activity of the TTO, and check for any
“missed” projects with technology transfer
potential.
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15. Rationale
 Why was the Valorization Award established?
 In 2000, the Scientific Council of the university created an award to acknowledge
the efforts of researchers in technology transfer
 What was the context?
 Wider context of the Law on Innovation & research (1999), promoting the transfer
of public research to industry and the creation of innovative companies.
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16. Impact
 Internal :
 Steady number of applications : 15 to 20 per year
 The reaction of the research community is very positive : Technology transfer
officers of the university get calls from researchers, to have information about the
award before the launch !
 A good tool :
 to promote technology transfer among the research community and the
different services of the university.
 to demonstrate that there is no discrepancy between high-level research
and technology transfer
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17. Impact
 External :
 Innovative award : the first award of this kind in France
 The Technology Transfer Award is a well-recognized academic distinction
 Increases visibility on the activities of the university labs and the TTO (media
coverage)
 9 laureates out of 26 have created a start-up : they have later won a national
competition launched by the Ministry of Research to support the creation of
companies of innovative technologies since1999.
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18. Lessons Learned
 A lot of resources are required to carry out the award process (scientific &
technical, administrative staff, communication, top management). It is crucial to
ensure the involvement of all parties from the beginning.
 Anticipate as much as possible although the decision process can be quick if there
is a general agreement among the stakeholders. In 2000, the award ceremony
was organised 4 months after the decision of the scientific council to create the
award.
 Define clearly eligibility criteria in the award regulation, especially in the complex
situation of laboratories located in the university, which are affiliated to different
research organisms.
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19. Suggested Readings
 Link to bibliography
G.D. Markman, P.T. Gianiodis, P. H. Phan, D.B. Balkin, Entrepreneurship from the Ivory Tower: Do
Incentive Systems Matter? Journal of Technology Transfer, Vol.29, no 3-4, August 2004
 Link to code book
Award; Motivation; Reward, Prize; Selection; Jury; Ceremony
 Link to related websites
 Technology Transfer Office of Paris-Sud University :
http://www.u-psud.fr/fr/l_universite/organisation_generale/services_communs/saic.html
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