Higher Education Institution Design Support for SME’s
- Submitting institution
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Nottingham Trent University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 32 - 1379129
- Type
- T - Other
- DOI
-
-
- Location
- -
- Brief description of type
- N/A
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month
- June
- Year
- 2017
- URL
-
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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1
- Research group(s)
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B - Design Research Centre
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This portfolio describes the design research undertaken by Terris as part of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) New Product Development (NPD) design research group, from January 2014 to the present. The research was to determine the optimum protocol for an HEI to help and support Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s) undertake NPD.
The innovation and development of new products is critical to the profitability and economic survival of any company; but unlike Large Enterprises (LE’s) SME’s are generally less able to invest in or contract NPD expertise. Yet SME’s are a vital component of the UK economy; the manufacturing sector alone employing over 2.7 million people and generating £191 billion of annual revenue for UK Plc.
Kaufmann and Tödtling (2002) describe many shortcomings of HEI based Technology Transfer Offices (TTO’s), stating they act more as transfer-of-information organizations as opposed to providing knowledge transfer. Siegel et al. (2003) argue that HEI’s should act as managers and integrators of innovation delivery while Kaufmann and Tödtling (2002) advocated for a proactive consultancy to address strategic organizational and technological weaknesses within. This research overcomes such shortcomings by addressing such weaknesses.
Based on empirically based research over three phases (each phase building on the findings of the prior one), the portfolio presents how a proactive approach to innovation delivery which addresses the technological weaknesses of NPD teams and manages networks can lead to a success rate of products to market in excess of 70%. These findings are based on numerous action research design interventions over the census period.
Dissemination has been via two international conference papers and a journal article. Impact has been via numerous products to market (and revenue generated) and in helping to secure a £4.67 million CCF grant from Research England for the design research group and its collaborators.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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