CHAPTER 5 – IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
5.6 Conclusions
The low number of commercialisation of research outputs by PRIs in Malaysia has prompted a need to conduct a study that investigates reasons why this problem occurs. According to the previous research, there are various reasons for the little commercialisation efforts being made to commercialise research outputs. Among reasons stated are the research conducted are often of low quality research, no commercialisation unit exist in the institutions that can assist in the process of commercialisation and researcher compensation given to the researchers for
148 commercialising their research outputs are not attractive. Since there are many contrasting views on which factor seems to contribute more towards the success of research commercialisation thus this study is conducted.
This study has found that the most important key findings of this study are the listing of all key success factors that are believed to determine the success of commercialisation of research by PRIs in Malaysia. The key success factors can
provide guidance to both PRIs and individual researchers on the dos and don’ts in
commercialising their research outputs. Four important key success factors that need to be taken into account if the Malaysian government as well as PRIs to commercialise their research outputs successfully. In addition, two additional factors which were not found significant but which the researchers believed should be ideal factors to be included to ensure commercialisation success need to also be considered.
5.7 Chapter summary
This chapter provides the summary of major findings of this study and conclusions of this study. This chapter begins by highlighting the major findings of this study. It is then followed by discussions of the implication of the findings found in this study. The major findings of this study were gathered during the exploratory and descriptive research of this study. Besides that, this study also experienced some problems during the conduct of this study. This is presented in the limitations of the
149 study. In order to tackle this study in the future, the future research direction was also highlighted and outlined in this chapter. This chapter concludes with a conclusion given on all discussions that were presented in the previous chapter as well as in this chapter. The conclusion for this study outlined all important aspects of this study.
150
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(As of October 2007)
INSTITUTION CATEGORY AND CODE
PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING (CODE 01) Institution
Code Institution Name
01 UiTM (Universiti Teknologi MARA)
02 UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)
03 UM (Universiti Malaya)
04 UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia)
05 USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia)
06 UTM (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia)
07 UUM (Universiti Utara Malaysia)
08 UIAM (Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia)
09 UNIMAS (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak)
10 UMS (Universiti Malaysia Sabah)
11 UPSI (Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris)
12 UMT (Universiti Malaysia Terengganu)
13 UTHM (Universiti Tun Hussein Malaysia)
14 UTeM (Universiti Teknikal Malaysia)
15 UniMAP (Universiti Malaysia Perlis)
16 UMP (Universiti Malaysia Pahang)
17 USIM (Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia)
18 UDM ( Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia)
19 UPNM (Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia)
(As of October 2007)
INSTITUTION CATEGORY AND CODE PUBLIC RESEARCH INSTITUTION (CODE 0 3)
Institution
Code Institution Name
01 NUCLEAR MALAYSIA (Malaysian Nuclear Agency)
02 SIRIM Berhad
03 MACRES (Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing)
04 MIMOS Berhad
05 TPM (Technology Park Malaysia Corporation Sdn. Bhd.)
06 IPP (Institut Penyelidikan Perikanan)
07 VRI (Veterinary Research Institute)
08 MARDI (Malaysian Agricultural Research & Development)
09 NAHRIM (National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia)
10 FRIM (Forest Research Institute of Malaysia)
11 MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board)
12 LGM (Lembaga Getah Malaysia)
13 LKM (Lembaga Koko Malaysia)
14 NIH (National Institute of Health)
15 STRIDE (Science & Technology Research Institute for Defence)
16 PBM (Perbadanan Bioteknologi Melaka)
17 SBC (Sarawak Biodiversity Centre)
1 Semi-Structured Interview Schedule
Thank you for participating in this interview. In a few minutes I will be asking you questions which relate to the commercialisation of research projects in your institution. Please stop me at any time if you are unsure of what the question is referring to. Remember that at any time during the interview, you can choose to no longer participate. Also you can choose not to answer any particular question because of privacy or confidentiality consideration.
Before we get started can I please ask you to fill in the consent form (if this has not been already done).
SECTION A: RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
A.1) What are the key areas of research in your institution? (Please tick appropriate boxes) a. Engineering sciences
b. Information, computer and communication technologies
c. Applied sciences and technologies
d. Economics, business and management
e. Agricultural sciences f. Others (please specify)
______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________
A.2) Please specify the total amount of research funds received from the government for research purposes. (I will respect your decision if you do not want to provide an answer to this question)
2 A.3) Please specify the amount of research funds allocated to various research fields in your institution. (I will respect your decision if you do not want to provide an answer to this question)
Field of research Amount allocated (RM)/year
Please state the reason for the amount allocated Engineering sciences
Information, computer and communication technologies Applied sciences and
technologies
Economics, business and management
Agricultural sciences Others (Please specify)
A.4) The number of research outputs being produced every year ________________ Research outputs per year.
3 It will be helpful to this research project if you can provide the following information about these outputs. (Optional)
(Please attach information about additional research outputs if space provided is insufficient)
4 A.5) Please indicate the strength of your agreement or disagreement on which of these factors
determine what research is undertaken in your institution.
Strongly disagree Strongly agree
a. All research should be determined by
market/industry
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
b. All research should be determined by
inventor/researcher
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
c. All research should be determined by both market/industry and researcher/inventor
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
d. All research should be determined by the
government
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
e. All research should be determined by the
institution 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 f. Others ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________
5 INCUBATOR
B.1.a) Does your institution have any unit/department/office that manages the commercialisation activities in your institution? (Please tick the most appropriate response)
a. No.(Please proceed to question B.2.a)
b. Yes (Please state the name of the unit/department/office)
________________________________________________________________
B.1.b) Is the main function of this unit/department/office do manage activities related to the commercialisation of research?
a. Yes
b. No. (Please specify)
______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ B.1.c) How many staff are employed in this unit/department/office to manage the
commercialisation of research? _____________________ People.
B.2.a) Does your institution own and operate a research park or business incubator? a. No (Please proceed to Section C)
b. Yes (please state the name)
6 related to the commercialisation of research.
a. Yes
b. No. (Please specify)
______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ B.2.c) How many staff are employed in this unit/department/office to manage the
commercialisation of research? ____________________ People.
7 C.1) Specify the total number of research outputs that have been commercialised in your
institution?
_____________________research outputs.
It will be helpful to this research project if you can provide the following information about these outputs.
(Please attach information about additional research outputs if space provided is insufficient)
Project Title Time taken to
commercialise the research project.
Date completed
8 the commercialisation activities in your institution.
Strongly disagree Strongly agree
a. Research commercialisation staff 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
b. Research expenditure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
c. Invention disclosures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
d. Patents applications filed and patents issues 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
e. Start-up companies 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
f. Collaborations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
g. Licensing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
h. Consultancy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
i. Publications 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
j. Others (please specify)
______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ C.3) What are the stages involved in the commercialisation process? (Multiple responses are
acceptable)
a. Research disclosure
b. Idea assessment (whether to allow publication or to protect the intellectual property)
c. Licensing to established companies or creating new spin-out companies.
d. Other stages involved (please specify)
______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________
9 D.1) What is/are the method/s of commercialisation currently applied in your institution?
(Multiple responses are acceptable) a. Licensing b. Spin-outs c. Collaborations d. Joint venture e. Consultancy f. Publications
g. Others (Please specify)
______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ D.2) Please indicate the strength of agreement or disagreement on factors that influence the
choice of methods used in the commercialisation of research outputs.
Strongly disagree Strongly agree
a. The intellectual property issue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
b. The level of involvement of an inventor or researcher
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
c. Remuneration to an inventor or researcher 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
d. The policy of commercialisation developed by the institution
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
e. The inventor/researcher preference 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
f. The institution preference 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10 ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ D.3) Please indicate the strength of agreement or disagreement on the problems related to the
choice of methods in the commercialisation of research.
Strongly disagree Strongly agree
a. The policy of commercialisation developed by the institution
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
b. The involvement of the inventor/researcher 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
c. The commercialisation incentive received by the inventor/researcher
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
d. The commercialisation incentive received by the institution
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
e. Others (Please specify)
______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________
11 commercialisation of research outputs? (Please specify the reason)
_________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________