Technology valuation of a scanning probe microscope developed at a university in a developing country

Precompetitive technology (PT) refers to devices, equipment, software or processes primarily developed at universities in developing countries for research or teaching as a result of externally financed projects contracted between the university institutes, centers or faculties and industry. PT is generally embodied in the form of laboratory prototypes and is licensed via technology transfer (TT) contracts between the university and external funding agencies or other interested parties. In the process of defining the terms of a TT contract, a fundamental question arises: what is the monetary value of a precompetitive technology? In this paper we present a methodology for PT valuation based on the identification of specific value points (SVP) related to its development. The four-step method includes the definition of a PT value range based on cost and market approaches, expected incomes, present value and scoring in order to determine the relative weights of the primary aspects of the intellectual capital behind the technology. The valuation methodology is applied to the specific example of a scanning probe microscope (SPM) developed at the Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. The technology valuation problem Public and private organizations compete fiercely for survival and growth in global markets. In search of innovation, enterprises get involved not only in buying external technology, but also in selling or cooperating with other entities in technology development decisions. Whatever the form of transaction, the valuation of technology and in general of intangible assets represents a common and relevant problem (Chiesa et al., 2005). Technology development, valuation and negotiation are an integral part of the innovation process. There are big differences, however, in the form this process takes in developed and developing countries. In developed countries, there are close relationships between universities and industry, whereas in developing countries R&D institutions have emerged as isolated islands (Awny, 2005) without the establishment of proper mechanisms for linking research institutes, universities and industry. There are several well-known critical success factors in the innovation process ll rights reserved. (L.R. Vega-González), [email protected] R. Ortega-Martı́nez), (Andreou et al., 2007). One of them is access to external knowledge and technology suppliers, and the efficient administration of collaborations or technological alliances. The innovation process also relies on good valuation procedures. Generally speaking, for whoever develops the technology valuation must have a cost perspective, while a benefits perspective is required for whoever buys it. In all cases it is necessary to include at least three types of cost/benefit components: (a) tangible, (b) intangible and (c) opportunity. 1.1. Precompetitive technology development For the purpose of this work we consider a typical innovation and technology development project as one developed between university research and development institutes (or centers) and smallor medium-sized firms. This is the most common case in developing countries. Such a project begins with preliminary information on market needs plus the basic research group’s knowledge. Mixing those elements with the technological development capabilities of the organization’s technical staff, an initial technological product concept is achieved. This is the origin of the process. Unlike conventional engineering projects, technological development projects begin with solution ideas or concepts, without well-structured specifications of the problem. L.R. Vega-González et al. / Technovation 30 (2010) 533–539 534 These preliminary concept ideas give rise to applied research and technology development, known as the concept testing stage. This stage’s objective is to apply the university R&D institution’s basic knowledge and know-how to generate functional technological prototypes in order to test the validity of the concept, in response to specific and well-determined needs of society and industry. This is a very important step since there is almost always a gap between the university’s research focus and society’s product needs (Fig. 1). At universities in developing countries, the concept testing must be done by the R&D centers through the iterative development of prototypes that culminate in a precompetitive technology (PT). The early stages of development are shown in Concept testing Stage Prototype development and validation Stage Basic Research Universities, R&D Institutes and Centres Project Financing Pre competitive Techn Applied Research Technology Development ) $ + ( Preliminary Market Information