VIADUCT

Spin-off (S/O) are a notable source of innovation and allow to increase knowledge transfer among Public Universities and Research Centers (PU&RC) and its environment, mainly with the regional productive sector. They provide qualified jobs and high value-added products & services, becoming a key element to move towards a new productive model based on research and innovation.
However, despite its benefits for the regional economic and social development, this instrument of knowledge transfer presents significant barriers to bring successfully research to market:
- Low entrepreneurial spirit versus preference for a research & academic career
- Difficulty in identifying research results that can be converted into business ideas
- Lack of business management skills of research founders
- Regulatory framework that is not conducive to knowledge transfer via S/O
- Difficult access to finance due to the lack of tangible assets as guarantee
- High business risk and market uncertainty due to the disruptive nature of products or services.
VIADUCT aims to drive knowledge transfer and commercialization of public applied research in regional S4 priorities by tackling main barriers related to spin-offs creation and consolidation through the improvement of Policy Instruments.
To this end, VIADUCT develops an inter-regional cooperation scheme composed by Europe’s premier association of Knowledge Transfer professionals (AST) as advisory partner, and 7 partners from 7 regions in 7 countries spread over Europe with a balance of advanced and less advanced regions.
The interregional exchange and learning process activities include Interregional thematic workshops & study visits, regional reports & interregional analysis, and regional stakeholders meetings, that will facilitate the improvement of policy instruments. This will ensure a successful process of knowledge transfer through S/O, facilitating their creation and survival.