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Loïc BordaisHead of industrial liaison office

Partnership management :Using decision support tools

www.in2p3.fr

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Decision making steps

Definition of Dr. Brown of Swansea Hospital : seven steps

1. Outline your goal and outcome.

2. Gather data.

3. Develop alternatives

4. List pros and cons of each alternative.

5. Make the decision.

6. Immediately take action to implement it.

7. Learn from and reflect on the decision.

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Decision making steps : step 2 « Gather data »

Decision support

Validated information

Analysis

Selected Information

Focused Collect with filters= Keywords

internal/external public/private sources = Raw Information

• The pyramid of information in watch process

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Decision support tools in partnership management : an example

An example of strategic approach for animal health department of INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) 2005-2007

 Question : How to diversify partnership to European or Wolrdwide level in our labs ? (Step one «Outline your goal » )

Two core factors :

1) Research activity is now a partnership activity

2) Strategic partnership is a key for scientific excellence

So how to choose a well fitted partnership ?

You need to know actors, their activity and importance, existing or possible partnership : you need to gather INFORMATION (step 2) , you need to make decision (step 5) « choose partners » and implement it (step 6) « enter into collaboration ».

For pragmatic reasons : no time to spend for researchers, difficulty to get the « grey information » and others, our support team chose a self evaluation method from the Sociologic Centre of Innovation in Paris : the ASPUR method.

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Partnership management : ASPUR Strategic Partnership Analysis for Research Unit

Université LJapon

Université CGB

Université AUSA

Medium link

Strong link

Weak link

Scientific pole

Technolo

gic

al

pole

Market Pole

Entreprise DNorvège

Entreprise AFrance

Entreprise BEspagne

Entreprise XFrance

ProducteursÉtrangers

GMS

ASSOCIATION A

Groupement européenOrganisation prof.

France

Centre techniqueFrance

Entreprise FFrance

Entreprise EFrance

ANR

MAP

MESR

AFSSA

D.G. UE

OFFICE AMEDD

Entreprise CAllemagne

Entreprise GFinlande

Centre techniqueNouvelle Zélande

Université UChine

Institut SHongrie

Centre RNorvège

Université OItalie

Université WPays Bas

Centre techn.Canada

Labo CNRS MFrance

Unité INRA JTheix

Unité INRA KRennes

COLLECTIVITES TERRITORIALES

Organisme NFrance

Ecole TFrance

Université PPortugal

FABRICANTSX, Y et Z

Université DEcosse

Université EGB Institut F

Espagne

Centre GEcosse Unité INRA I

Tours

Major actor

Medium actor

Weak actor

______________________________________________Partnership management : limitations of self evaluation approach

Perfect to collect grey information in condensed form in a limited time

But risk of :

• missing of actors, missing of quantitative information about actors

• Unrelevant qualification of actors (feeling vs facts) that may conduct to a wrong partnership

You need an objective assesment of information. Decision making is a combination between feeling and facts.

So we decided in 2007 to reinforcement the ASPUR method by watch tools : collecting tools for internet sites, publications sites, tools for patent database (matheo patent), financial databases.

______________________________________________Partnership management : implementation of watch tools

Definition of required information : size of actors, R&D indicators

• For academics : standard figures, publications, patents

• For economic actors : financial figures, patents

Objective : re-define importance of actors in ASPUR method

Watch tools : Keywatch for web crawling, SCRL databases for financial figures, Web of science for publications, matheo patents for patents.

Difficulties :

• Watch tools were not so easy to manage in 2007 ; different tools without integration

• Importance of keywords : well defined field of research

• Means : more human and financial ressources

______________________________________________Partnership management : conclusion

Decision support tools are strategic in a more an more complex world. Use it !

At first : step one Outline your goal and outcome :

Take time to know what are you searching for ? What do you want to know ?

Then : step 2 Gather data

• what do you need as information ?

• What tools would be useful ?

• Existing or new ones (like in HEP experiments) : new tools open new possibilities

So build your own information system and analysing structure : it is a well known watch process

Do not try to reach perfection right the first time ; it is a back and forth system

Thanks for your attention.