The Science Business Fusion™ course has wide applicability to science organisations, scientists and science managers, and many perceived benefits for participants. Its objectives are endorsed by the CRC Association. The course leader is Dr Brett Kettle, a scientist who has, for 19 years, been commercially successful in dealing with a wide range of industry and governments, nationally and internationally. Speakers at each course include senior industry managers, each from businesses related to the host institution's fields of expertise. Course delivery has been tailored to increase interaction and accessibility, and to reduce participant costs. The course is "localized" and delivered through host institutions in each area. The course was first run in December 2000, with excellent feedback. It is offered throughout Australia and New Zealand in its 2002 program. Future offerings include the ongoing annual program, and the program is available outside of the annual program on special request. Participants receive a certificate verifying successful completion of the Science Business Fusion™ course.

Applicability

The Science Business Fusion course is equally applicable to science-based organisations facing future funding cuts, as to those that simply seek greater support from industry in the future. It is also suitable for science organisations that are already operating on a strong and independent commercial basis, but which wish to reinforce the culture change process among staff or collaborating institutions.

Scientists and science managers from post-graduate to senior management levels will find this course of benefit to their personal interactions with industry, and the ultimate success of their science business.

Perceived Benefits

The course is expected to provide a range of practical benefits to participants. These include:

• Improving the commercial outcomes of research - for researchers, their organizations and the industries they are working within
• Increasing the range and effectiveness of researcher interactions with industry
• Improve proposals, bid preparation and project management skills
• Contributing more effectively to their organization's strategic growth
• Learning how to establish and maintain credibility with industry, negotiate more effectively, and how to stay at the table when difficult issues need to be resolved
• Knowing their organization's commercial drivers, how these have changed over time, and future scenarios
• Learning the language of the industries they work with, and
• Benefiting from three days of close interaction with like-minded scientists and science managers in a learning environment

Course objectives have been endorsed by the CRC Association. These objectives are to improve science - industry interactions by:

• Advancing culture change processes within CRCs, moving further from the "granting body" paradigm towards truly effective industry collaboration
• Helping scientists to understand commercial behaviour, and equipping them to behave commercially when necessary
• Improving the breadth and effectiveness of project-related and non-project interactions between researchers and research users, and
• Improving the sustainability of CRC-styled research by encouraging a focus on building "science businesses"

• Promote a commercial and industry-collaborative approach to planning and managing research, from foresighting and market assessment, through to delivery of products or services
• Emphasize the applicability of commercial skills to "strategic" or "pure" science, and non-research functions of science organisations, as well as to applied research projects
• Improve skills in science communication, foresighting techniques, assessing commercial risk, proposal writing, negotiating and project management
• Help clarify the distinctions between science in a commercial context, and Intellectual Property, including increasing the awareness of non-revenue factors in the success of science businesses
• Provide participants with opportunities to hear senior business speakers talk about the roles of science, and research drivers, within their own organizations, and to interact informally with these industry representatives
• Give participants opportunities to develop implementation plans which they can use in their own projects or institutions

Dr Brett Kettle, Principal of BABEL-sbf Pty Ltd, will present much of this course. Brett has 19 years experience as a consultant and adviser to industry and governments. In 11 years with Sinclair Knight Merz he managed groups in Townsville, Brisbane and Melbourne, with responsibilities for up to 50 staff and, at any one time, projects worth $3M to $4M in aggregate. In his last year he combined management of SKM's Queensland Technology Research & Development portfolio with record profitability in the North Queensland environmental practice. He left SKM in June 2000 to create BABEL-sbf, a vehicle to pursue his strong interest in "science business fusion".

Industry Guest Speakers

Each course includes 3 industry guest speakers, each holding senior business management roles within the organisation's catchment area, and each having dealt closely with research or science-based advice over many years. This ensures that diverse views are presented. Speakers are given broad bounds to discuss their past or future interactions with scientists. Presentation slots are scheduled to ensure that speakers can interact informally over breaks, giving workshop registrants maximum exposure to them. These sessions have been exceptionally well received by participants.

Course delivery

Science Business Fusion is highly interactive and is run only in small-group situations (limited to 20 participants). The course is delivered throughout Australia and New Zealand at locations coinciding with major research centers. This reduces participant travel and accommodation costs, and minimizes the impact of the three-day program on participants' limited availability. This makes it very cost-effective for organisations wishing to put several people through the course.

The course includes seminar-styled presentations, but half of all contact time is spent in workshop sessions where participants can build case-based models to implement within their own projects, promote through their own organizations, or simply to reinforce lessons learned.

Tailored courses

Each course is tailored to include actual examples from the host institution, thus providing readily recognizable scenarios for participants. This is done by spending several days "in-house" with managers, staff and researchers before each course starts.

Host Institutions

The course is "hosted" by a science organisation in each location. Hosting does not imply a financial commitment, but offers an opportunity for profile raising and direct exposure to all course participants and business guest speakers. Host institutions receive two free-of-charge scholarship registrations, to be awarded by the host institution as it sees fit, representing an in-kind value of more than $2000. For their part, host organisations are asked to provide a workshop venue (20 people maximum) and data projector, and to assist with circulating email notifications via their email distribution systems.

Course Feedback

Participants in the first course included students, researchers and academic staff from CRC for Weed Management Systems, CRC for Sustainable Sugar Production, CRC Reef Research Center, CRC for Aquaculture, and James Cook University.

Feedback from participants was excellent, with every participant unanimous that the course represented value-for-money, met or exceeded their expectations, and that they would recommend it to their colleagues. Participants have given permission to quote the following:

• "Very good value", "[Scientists] just don't get business communication opportunities like this" [Greg Doherty, geochemist]
• "Really inspiring", "very refreshing to look at science from another perspective" [Lisa McDonald, sugar horticulture]
• "A very valuable few days. I now have a much clearer idea of what commercial partners want and how to make it clear to them what I have to offer." "The obstacles to efficient collaboration are now clearer, and hopefully I can avoid some that I wasn't even aware I was faced with" "Brett has used his industry experience to great effect - the essential elements of science-business collaboration are covered in a clearly and concisely, supported by excellent notes, and reinforced with real examples and by industry speakers." [Dr Scott Smithers, fluvial geomorphologist]

2001 Program

As a result of excellent feedback, and considerable interest from elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand, it is planned to offer the course Australia-wide (all capital cities) and in New Zealand in 2002. Click here for the Program of venues and dates.

Future offerings

Courses will now be run according to demand. Opportunities also exist for customized courses to be held on request from organisations providing more than 10 participants. Email Brett Kettle for information on dedicated workshops.

Completion Certificate

Participants attending at least 2.5 days of the course are eligible for a Certificate of Completion of the Science Business Fusion^® course.

© BABEL-sbf^®, 2003
ABN 38 093 318 800
contact: info@babel-sbf.com.au