What is Exploitation & Dissemination?
The core of Exploitation & Dissemination can be catagorised in one simple term: communication.
We will explore this in more detail but in essence it is about raising awareness of your project innovation and development. A strategic communication plan will ensure that you reach out with the right message and use the right medium. But why is it important? Without dissemination activities, you cannot create interest and traction for your product or innovation and if no one knows about it why would they buy or use it?
Innovate UK & other public funding bodies understand the value of exploitation & dissemination. They all see it as critical path that ensures that the public funding and investment they make in your project creates real value…for everyone.
In essence it is the foundation to from where to build you business innovation or service.
Dissemination Explained
The strategic communication plan will define how you disseminate your project and to whom.
But what do you disseminate and how?
Dissemination is about raising your project profile and its innovation (in effect making the project public).
There are multiple tools & mediums that Opus Vox use to do this. However, primarily we look to disseminate, create interest & dialogue through the use of project outputs such as scientific papers, test results & data. By amplifying these we engage with your target audience & potential customers, taking them on a journey and stimulating their interest in your project & innovation.
It also provides you with a competitive advantage and ensures your product or innovation is front and centre in their minds, as they follow the development, see the challenges and witness the achievements.
Exploitation Explained
A Key Exploitable Result (KER) can be viewed as the main interesting result of your project.
The output could be used for further R&D activities such as a follow on projects with the same or new strategic project partners. It can be developing, creating or selling a product or process as a result of your project work or creating and providing a service.
If done well, your dissemination activities will have identified areas and stakeholders that could make use of the project results service or product (a potential ready-made customer database). Timing is critical, so exploitation should start as soon as you have a KER, not just at the end of the project, so in some cases exploitation and dissemination work in parallel.
Opus Vox will be able to identify whether there any KERs from our initial consultation. The TRL of the project will of course influence this. For example if the project or innovation is a low TRL and at proof of concept stage it is unlikely that there will be a KER, but innovation can happen quickly so there maybe milestones that can be aimed for and exploited.
As part of the exploitation process, there are other factors to consider. The protection of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights). Intellectual Property (IP) as an intangible asset is a key factor in the competitiveness of your business in the global economy. IP is a primary method for securing a return on investment in innovation and is especially relevant to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those involved in publicly funded projects. For more information on our IP management service click here.