Organisational Profile
Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia (KCA) – the peak body for organisations and individuals associated with knowledge commercialisation / technology transfer between public sector research organisations and business and government entities.
Service Provided
KCA engaged gemaker to deliver a world-leading professional capabilities framework and toolkit for the Australasian technology transfer sector, with global applications.
Outcomes
Helped KCA to successfully apply for a $98,000 grant from the Professional Standards Council.
- Conducted a 12-month research project to identify the required capabilities of technology transfer professionals, at every career level. The research involved 103 technology transfer professionals and 31 stakeholders from 64 Australasian organisations.
- Produced a comprehensive report including:
- a world-leading capability framework for technology transfer professionals, classified by career development stage
- findings of skills gaps in Australasian technology transfer professionals, and
- practical recommendations to close the skills gaps, including focussed education, secondment and mentoring programs involving industry stakeholders.
- Provided a toolkit for KCA members and technology transfer professionals to:
- improve recruitment practices
- enable informed self-assessment and career planning
- select targeted professional development, and
- communicate capabilities to stakeholders, thereby promoting more transparent, accountable and productive partnerships, and enhancing risk management in commercialisation services.
- Developed media releases and blog articles to promote the KCA report and toolkit, leading to coverage by The Australian and Science Meets Business.
The report was commended by the Chief Scientist and the Chair of the Board of Innovation Australia.
For more information, check out World-first career framework for Technology Transfer Professionals published.
The gemaker team is great to work with and extremely proactive. They found the funding source (the Professional Standards Council) and worked with KCA to produce a successful grant application to support a world-first research project into the skills and competencies required for working in technology transfer offices in publicly funded research agencies.
When the research was complete, gemaker could have simply delivered a report, but they wanted the work to have far greater impact than that. They shared our aim to enhance the professionalism of Australasia’s technology transfer sector, so gemaker used the research findings to develop a practical toolkit for KCA and its members to use.
The report and toolkit has generated a lot of interest amongst the international tech transfer community as it is the first time a skills audit of the profession has been done. The toolkit has empowered Australian tech transfer professionals and organisations to improve recruitment, career planning, professional development and workforce management, as well as enabling clearer communication with stakeholders. KCA is actively using the toolkit to provide relevant professional development of its members.
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