A Regional Innovation Agency in South America

From 2014 to 2016, Oxford Oracle joined forces with South American consultancy a technology transfer consortium to advise the regional government agency a regional innovation agency on the design and implementation of a regional innovation seed fund for the South America region.

Oxford Oracle used its expertise and experience in technology appraisal to recommend which new technologies warranted the regional innovation agency's financial support. Summary:During this two-year project in South America, Oxford Oracle joined forces with local consultancy a technology transfer consortium to advise a regional innovation agency on the design and implementation of an innovation seed fund for the South America region. This project demonstrates Oxford Oracle's success in collaborating with local organisations, to ensure that the client benefits from Oxford Oracle's exceptional global reach and expertise, and from the partners knowledge of local context and connections. Oxford Oracle's work has contributed to the client's strategic goal of positioning the host city as the most innovative city in Latin America by 2022. What Oxford Oracle provided:Oxford Oracle was appointed in early 2014 to support the regional innovation agency and a technology transfer consortium in the creation and management of the agency's seed fund programme, named InLab2Market. Oxford Oracle was selected to act as programme validator, assessor and international promoter, based on its impartiality and expertise in science technology and innovation. The regional innovation agency is the body established by regional government to promote the development of innovative technology-based businesses in and around the regional capital, ultimately to accelerate the growth of the knowledge economy and increase the area's economic competitiveness. In this context, the agency conceived InLab2Market as an innovation seed fund to provide finance and professional support to promising early-stage technologies, carefully selected by means of a call for proposals from the South American innovation community. Oxford Oracle and a technology transfer consortium jointly advised the agency on the best way to set up InLab2Market, from establishing parameters and procedures, to selecting projects, awarding funds and providing guidance to the successful applicants. Oxford Oracle provided hands-on support during the technology selection process, as follows: 1. Pre-filter evaluation: Oxford Oracle was commissioned to evaluate 14 of the total of 49 projects that applied and qualified for InLab2Market, using an evaluation methodology devised by a technology transfer consortium, who evaluated the remaining 35 applications. 2. Filter stage: Using the results of the pre-filter process, the agency selected 30 projects for evaluation at the filter stage, and invited two Oxford Oracle consultants to join the assessment panel in South America, who interviewed the applicant academics and entrepreneurs. Oxford Oracle used the assessment results to systematically compare the projects and make formal recommendations on which projects warranted the agency's support. 3. Commercialisation strategies: the agency selected 15 projects for financial support, each of which Oxford Oracle analysed to recommend the most appropriate marketing route. For 18 months Oxford Oracle supported the successful contenders with their commercialisation strategies, assisting with business plans, market and intellectual property analysis, and advice on licensing and creating spin-outs. All the projects have now reached prototype stage and have begun discussions with potential licensees, or have established companies to begin selling their products or services. Short case study: Supporting a regional innovation ecosystem in South America Oxford Oracle has recently completed a two-year project in South America, where it joined forces with local consultancy a technology transfer consortium to advise a regional innovation agency on the design and implementation of a regional innovation seed fund. Demonstrating its aptitude for collaborating with local organisations, Oxford Oracle used its expertise and experience in technology appraisal to recommend which new technologies warranted the agency's financial support. The thorough selection process led to 15 projects gaining agency funding plus commercialisation support from Oxford Oracle, setting the host city on the path to achieving the client's strategic goal of being the most innovative city in Latin America by 2022.

The thorough selection process led to 15 projects gaining a regional innovation agency funding and commercialisation support from Oxford Oracle, setting the host city on the path to achieving the client's strategic goal of being the most innovative city in Latin America by 2022.