The satisfaction survey and research result impact are two powerful tools showing how the organization is perceived by partners. These tools provide strong feedback to the organization facilitating it to stay aligned with the expectations and needs of its partners. Additionally, they provide an overview of how the organization is fitting into the economical and social environment of its influence region. www.FITT-for-Innovation.eu

1. Partnership Satisfaction & Impact Survey
FITT
– Fostering Interregional Exchange in ICT Technology Transfer –
www.FITT-for-Innovation.eu
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2. Partnership Management
Partnership management is essential to assure the best relationship and cooperation,
business or research, between TTO’s and industrial partners.
Relationship Management with partners and customers enables to:
• Have more efficient exploitation of the research results
• Create mutual trust, long-lasting and positive relationships
• Pave the way for future transfer opportunities
Successful partnership management brings mutual benefits:
• Identify opportunities
• Stay aligned to market needs/expectations
• Identify & solve specific problems
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3. Partnership Management
This practice is supported by three main pillars:
Partners and
clients
Satisfaction
survey
Partnership Impact
Agreement Assessment
Partnership
Management
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4. The satisfaction survey
Satisfaction survey is a tool that shows how the Public Research Organization
is perceived by clients and partners
Satisfaction survey impacts the organization at different levels:
The organization’s culture
The internal processes
The main objective is to identify sources of dissatisfaction and to initiate improvement
actions with specific indicators that allow a close follow-up.
Hints:
Conducting a “mirror” survey is strongly recommended to compare the perception of
partners’ satisfaction with the staff’s point of view Identify the gap between internal
and external perception and initiate actions to reduce it
Outsourcing the survey could overcome impartiality issues
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5. The satisfaction survey process
The survey process:
1. Select indicators according to what you want to measure and your objectives
assure the follow-up of the indicators over time
2. Prepare the questionnaire according to the communication channel and reduce the
bias
3. Segment your clients and partners before picking up the sample All the relationship
with them must be closed at the start of the survey
4. Run the survey by phone (for instance) complemented with face to face interviews
with clients and partners expressing a high degree of dissatisfaction
5. Process the qualitative and quantitative data, stress strengths and suggest
improvements
6. Disseminate result across the organization
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6. The impact of research results
Impact assessment is a tool to enable an in-depth evaluation of impact of public
research and transfer activities on economic, environmental and social fields.
Impact Assessment is a “tricky” practice to put in place due to the choice of the
relevant indicators
A long time span is very often required to assess the impact of the research results to
be considered as reliable: more than 5 years in most cases
It is difficult to isolate the impact of a transferred result from other organizational
activities, decisions, etc.
The impact of the results must only be assessed after their transfer
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7. Impact survey: some indicators
Category of impacts Example of indicators
Impact on economy, technology and • Product/Service/Process/ Creation/Improvement
commercialization • Cost-savings
• Research Methods Creation/Improvement
• Patent Applications
Impact on knowledge, expertise and • Expertise strengthening
human capital • Research Methods Improvement
• Scientific Impacts: scientific publications, conference
and seminar presentation
Impact on networking and social • Network creation
capital • Domestic networks, Global networks
• Organizational and social innovations
Impact on decision making and public • Participation in legislative and strategic planning
discourse • Norms, Regulation and standards
Impact on social and physical • Material/Resources and/or Energy Consumption
environment Reduction
• Regional development and growth Promotion
• Safety Promotion
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8. Stakeholders
Satisfaction survey:
Quality service (2 full-time persons) Coordinate the survey, present the results to the staff, recommend
and engage actions
Top and middle Management Communicate the results inside the five CRP Henri Tudor’s departments.
Disseminate the results among the research teams
CRP Henri Tudor’s Board of directors Presentation of the results and recommendations
Partners and clients feedback on the survey results and the actions engaged
Impact assessment:
Project management office (1 part-time person) Define the process and coordinate the related activities
Other potential stakeholders:
Governmental organisms : Ministry of the high education and the research, Ministry of the economy and the
Research National Fund (FNR) Set the performance contract terms as a function of impact achievements
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9. PRO’s & CON’s
PROs CONs
• Remain aligned with the clients/partners and market • Satisfaction indicators are in most cases too
expectations global do not providing specific feedback to
• Engage the organization in a constant self- the teams or individuals
improvement process • These practices impact the culture and
• Assess the impact of the transferred results process of the whole organization Big
Realize the real value of the PRO in its region or changes require to be managed carefully
country
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10. Rationale
Use the Satisfaction survey if :
Your clients’ and partners’ satisfaction is part of your mission or objectives
You mainly provide solutions to real problems and need feedbacks from the market, clients or partners
You assess the performance of your organization in a key performance indicators (KPI) basis
You are ISO 9001 certified and you have to fulfill the quality requirements
Use the Impact assessment if:
You have to express before your stakeholders how valuable your organization is for your region/country
You want to assess the real performance of the organization and its alignment with its mission
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11. Outcomes
Evaluation of the real contribution of the satisfaction survey requires a longer time horizon at
the current state it is too early to claim their real contributions of this practice
Impact Assessment of the transferred research results has not been successfully implemented yet
(at CRP Henri Tudor) Rethinking in progress
Partnership management requires time to see
tangible results: start the process, monitor it and
above all…be patient
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12. Lessons Learned
Satisfaction survey
Clients and partners segmentation is paramount to be successful in the evaluation of their
satisfaction
Tracking the clients and partners satisfaction over time is critical to evaluate the evolution of
organization’s performance and the relevance of the actions engaged
Selection of the right impact and satisfaction indicators are critical to have reliable
assessments take into account your organization's objectives
Impact Assessment
Research results Impact Assessment is a “tricky” practice to put in place get active advice
and support from the organizations having already succeeded to implement it
Impact surveys conducted too early create frustration and not reliable results: > 5 years in
average
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13. Suggested Readings
Link to bibliography
“Responsible Partnering. Joining Forces in a World of Open Innovation. A Guide to Better Practices for
Collaborative Research and Knowledge Transfer between Science and Industry” - Guidelines published by
European University Association, European Association of Research and Technology Organizations,
European Industrial Research Management Association, ProTon Europe
“University-Industry Research Relations in the United States” - by Bronwyn H. Hall
Link to relevant websites
http://www.innovation.gov.uk/lambertagreements/
http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/guidepropintel/outils_contractuels/contrat_de_consortium.htm
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