Objectives

Establish a program for guiding companies in the area of technology by making available laboratories properly equipped with software and tools for developing new technologies, as well as guidance for registering the latter – intellectual property.

Key Issues

1. Making available specific types of laboratories: identify the needs of each company based on their products and the processes to be developed, seek to set up laboratories capable of meeting such demands and make technical personnel available to monitor development.
2. Making available software and tools: identify the needs of each company based on its products and the processes to be developed, identify the software and tools capable of meeting such demands and make technical personnel available to monitor development.
3. Guidance in relation to intellectual property: identify the needs of each company based on its products and the processes to be developed and seek out professionals capable of providing guidance on the registration process for these new technologies.

According to the Art & Craft of Business Incubation (1996), there is a list of services and practices that could be provided to incubated companies in the research and technology area such as:

• Access to external technical facilities
• Loaned/consulting university faculty/ students
• Location/identification of key technical staff
• Databases of researchers and technologies
• Research and development financing
• Technical review boards
• Design/initiation of research/technical projects
• Alpha and beta testing

Advice for Technology Support Services

• Institutions that do not have laboratory and software infrastructure and the tools to service them can acquire them by partnering with universities or research centers.
• Access to technical personnel or professionals to meet the demands of technological development or registration can be gained through partnering with institutions already equipped in these areas.
• Choose as the parties responsible for this activity professionals who have training and experience in the development and registration of technology.

Responsible Parties

Technical personnel from the specific areas to monitor laboratory development and a consultant specializing in registering intellectual property.

Indicators

• Increase in the demand for new technologies
• Increase in the demand for registering new technologies
• Number of companies having developed and registered new technologies
• Number of companies having commercialized new technologies

Results

Companies that are equipped to look out for and utilize technology solutions in order to compete in the market with other companies.