Cluster Feedback – Transfer Instruments for the Timely Validation of Innovation Projects through Market Feedback

Motivation:

Applied research and the associated transfer of innovations to practical applications are a basis for prosperity and quality of life in Germany; however, it is not seldom that the practical implementation of promising innovation projects from extramural research fails due to a lack of knowledge concerning suitable realization options and the existing market potential on the part of researchers who, at the same time, revert to the feedback of relevant market participants (investors, users, industry partners) either insufficiently or with delay. Furthermore, researchers and market players often speak different languages and have different expectations, and, in many cases, there is a lack of mutual trust.  

Project Description:

The goal of the project is the improved evaluation of research results through innovative transfer methods. The emphasis is on the development of a digital feedback instrument for timely validation by the suitable market players. The digital instrument is not to be designed as a mere automated online platform, but in the long run should support and substantially accelerate the existing physical feedback or communication processes between innovators and market players through the integration of digital feedback applications. In this way, a significant contribution is to be made to the communication culture between the relevant parties. The transferability to other contexts will also be examined and considered.  

Our Services:

The Innovation Financing group is responsible for the analysis of the feedback process and the research of suitable incentive mechanisms. This calls for the group to work together with project partners on the development of a feedback instruments that is to be tested as a pilot and cemented within a regional innovation cluster in Thuringia. Along with the determination of specific feedback needs, an empirical and theoretical investigation will be carried out as to what would incentivize (both monetarily and non-monetarily) the receivers and providers of feedback to permanently use the feedback instrument. The knowledge pertaining to such a feedback instrument that was acquired from the experimentation and with the help of expert interviews and workshops will then be incorporated into the instrument’s development.   

Project Partners:

Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF
isn - innovation service network GmbH

Client:

DLR Projektträger e. V.

Project Duration:

1.5.2019 – 30.4.2021

Project sheet “Cluster Feedback“

 

ClusterFeedback: From insight to innovation through crowdsourcing