The document describes a proposed web portal for innovative SMEs being developed by INRIA to stimulate technology transfer. The portal would consolidate and organize a community of SMEs around INRIA. It would have different facets including a private technology transfer space for members, links to social networks, an events program, and an internal researcher network. The current state of INRIA's communications is analyzed, finding a lack of focus and harmonization. The portal aims to better meet SME needs like timely information, financing resources, and growth opportunities through new tech offers. Its success would require collaboration between INRIA departments and challenge developers with Web 2.0 features to better promote INRIA as a technology transfer stakeholder

1. Web Portal for Innovative SMEs
FITT
– Fostering Interregional Exchange in ICT Technology Transfer –
www.FITT-for-Innovation.eu
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

2. The case study description
Web portal for innovative SMEs: the objective is to develop, consolidate and
organize a community of innovative SMEs around INRIA in order to stimulate
technology transfer in their direction
Main elements of the case study:
 The architecture of the portal is reusable
 The case is generic (useful to every organisation wanting to adapt its offer to
specific needs)
 Stakeholders: development engineers, TT and Communication officers for the
specifications
 Case is related to the FITT process “Network Management”
2 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

3. The concept
 The web portal for innovative SMEs:
 the objective is to develop, consolidate and organize a community of
innovative SMEs around INRIA in order to stimulate technology transfer in
their direction
 But without ignoring pre-existing INRIA communication efforts
 Meaning that:
“to structure and organize efficiently this community, tools and processes
are needed to make benefit from the pre-existing activity of information
production, organisation and communication and direct these activities
towards transfer to innovative SMEs”
3 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

4. Main tool with various facets
 Facet 1: a technology transfer web space dedicated to the community: added value
information available to members only. The public space will only be a showroom but
should work as a teaser (make visitors want to become a member)
 Facet 2: to be linked to external social networks like youtube /dailymotion/ twitter
 Facet 3: an animation/organization program to lead the community (for example by
organizing webinars)
 Facet 4: an internal network of researchers on technology transfer subjects
 Different but necessary blocks built successively
4 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

5. Present state analysis (1)
 The official INRIA website: www.inria.fr/innovation
News, Agenda, Free software, demos showroom
5 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

6. Present state analysis (2)
 Content sources
 Publications: two external newsletters
 Videoconferences on strategic marketing (internal events open to some
selected partners)
 The transfer department newsletter (internal, for INRIA researchers)
 Other websites (thematic): Mobile Jungle, HPC-PME, Data Publica
 The website “Club des PMEs” (https access)
 The research teams websites
 Broad content from variety of sources
6 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

7. Present state analysis (3)
 INRIA and its partners communicate through:
 Competitiveness clusters websites
 OSEO (SME support agency) websites
 INRIA Transfert
 INRIA Alumni
7 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

8. Present state assessment
 Many interesting but non-focused contents for too many targets
 No harmonisation
 of the dissemination channels
 of processes to enter information
 Necessity to optimize the dissemination of information:
Information entered once 
 automatically relayed on and others
8 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

9. SMEs: What are their needs ?
 Synthetic and thematic info
 Agenda
 Technological watch, prospective info
 Financing
 National funding agencies, national mechanisms as tax credit
 Label for raising capital: a technological credibility
 Growth possibilities by new technological offers
 Software, patents, know-how
 Recruitment
9 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

10. SMEs: What are the targets ?
An extended target to expand the
INRIA profile in the ICT domain (B2B)
The SMEs interested in partnering
with INRIA
The SMEs carefully followed up by TT
associates with on-going transfer
operations
10 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

11. SMEs: What kind of tool ?
 Professional web portal:
 With an editorial and qualified content
 With moderation of the on-line community (blogs, wiki subsets)
 With webinars, plenary meetings, INRIA-Industry meetings, international
operations
 According to the five specific domains in which INRIA promotes transfer
operations
 By reusing/aggregating the multiple INRIA communication contents
11 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs

12. Conclusions
 The portal demands hard preparation work but eventually it turns to be
useful and interesting: it allows to take a distance and to think of a different
PRO’s communication policy which manages to well differentiate the target
groups and their specific needs
 A successful collaboration between Transfer and Innovation Department
and the Communication Department, as well as with the development
engineers, that challenged the specification team with Web 2.0 features
 The expected outcome is to boost INRIA as a national transfer stakeholder
in the ICT domain
12 | February 2011 Web Portal for Innovative SMEs