Connecting ideas with markets: the role of business development on innovation

by Borja Fernández Villar | Mar 1, 2024 | CARTIF Blog, Innovation

In the vibrant landscape of innovation and research and development (R&D), where ideas flourish and creativity meets technology, business development emerges as the essential bridge between theoretical potential and practical realisation. At CARTIF Technology Centre, we recognise that this bridge is not merely an additional step in the R&D&I process, but an integral component that determines the success and sustainability of our innovations in the marketplace.

Business development in the context of R&D&I is not limited to the search for commercial opportunities for existing products or services; it is an strategic integration that starts from the very conception of the research. It means aligning research and development objectives with market needs from the outset, identifying niches where innovation can not only enter but also expand and dominate.

Valorising innovation, the process in which technological knowledge is transformed into viable market applications, requires a deep understanding of the business ecosystem. At CARTIF, we strive to understand market dynamics, industry trends and consumer needs. This approach allow us to not only anticipate change but also to be part of the driving force behind it, ensuring that our innovations are both relevant and revolutionary.

Business development also involves building and maintaining a strong network of contacts, including industrial, academic and financial partners. These collaborations are crucial to the success of R&D&I, as they provide the resources, knowledge and capital needed to bring innovations from the lab to the market. At CARTIF, we value these collaborations as the core of our business development strategy, fostering an ecosystem where innovation can thrive.

By aiming to create business models for companies based on the results we transfer to them, we not only add value to our work but also maximise business opportunities for our clients. This dual approach ensures that we are not only transfering technology, but that we are actively participating in the creation of sustainable economic opportunities for the companies that collaborate with us.

“The creation of these business models is, in essence, a key function of business development”

Borja Fernández Villar. Head of Business Development at CARTIF

One of the main advantages of this integrated approach is the minimisation of risk for companies investing in our technology. By being able to generate business models directly, we offer our customers a clear path to return on their investment. This clarity and security of investment is essential to fostering a culture of bold innovation, where companies feels empowered to adopt new technologies knowing that they have a solid business model behind them to support their success.

Business development is undoubtedly the catalyst that allows innovation ideas to become successful commercial realities. At CARTIF Technology Centre, we understand that integrating business development strategies into the R&D&I process is not just an option, but a necessity to ensure that our innovations are not only pioneering, but also impactful and sustainable in the marketplace. By putting business development at the heaet of our R&D strategy, we ensure that the bridge between theory and practice is not only solid but also well-trodden, taking innovation from concept to successful commercialisation.

Innovating in capital letters: r+d+I

by Irene Hompanera | Feb 7, 2024 | CARTIF Blog, Innovation

I´ve always thought that the acronym R&D&i corresponded to the greater or lesser risk of carrying out the associated activities, hence the first two were capital letters and the third was lower case.

After 15 years working in a technology centre I realise that referring to research and development in capital letters and innovation in lower case affects the idea people have of these types of activities. Psychologically, what is internalised, in my view, is that innovation is less important than research and development.

On the basis that innovation is a risky activity that is carried out and whose result is closer to its implementation and, therefore, increases the possibilities of generating value, competitiveness and, ultimately, prosperity, I believe that innovation deserves, at the very least,to be written in capital letters as well.

Likewise, the experience working in CARTIF has also made me reflect on the result of this sum of three variables: R&D&I, on the dependent variable of the equation… For me, the result is clearly the generation of IMPACT. And it is impact in two directions: research and development generate impact on the state of the art that innovation does not generate and that is materialised, mainly in articles and patents, which anyone anywhere in the world can take advantage of. Innovation generates impact on the market given that, in the words of Professor Xavier Ferrás, “innovation is the successful exploitation of an idea with risk, which materialises mainly in profits and growth, localised in a specific point”

“innovation is the successful exploitation of an idea with risk, which materialises mainly in profits and growth, localised in a specific point”

Xavier Ferrás.

Technology centres are entities created to take on risky tasks and create technological knowledge, but above all we are entities created to make the most of this technological knowledge and apply it in the market and transform it into economic and social benefit.

It is therefore important for a technology centre to work to ensure that r&d generate innovation, trying to give value to the results so that the market internalises and understands the results generated and exploits them successfully. It is important to rely on collaborators to speed up processes of obtaining results and, above all, to speed up the process of transformin r&d into I. In short, it is about collaborating to gain value. It is also about helping to build efficient innovation systems, adjusting the obtaining of results with risks to the demands of the market from the beginnig of the conception of the result so that there is no time and/or technological lag between generation and exploitation that burden the innovation systems with inneficiencies and breaks in their gears. It is important to contextualise the framework for action at a global level rin order to advance the state of the art by gaining positions, but to act locally in the valorisation and transfer processes, so that the economic benefit is passed on to our local systems. All of this is key for innovation ecosystems to come into being, increase their capacities and consolidate over time. All of this is key so that innovation leads to more innovation.

Innovate for you, innovate for mi, innovate for all of us.