THE EMERGING ROLE OF LEAN INFRASTRUCTURES IN TECHNOLOGY-TRANSFER - THE CASE OF THE INNOVATION PLAZA PROJECT

Technology transfer is becoming a critical factor in determining the s peed of technological progress both of a geographical area and of indu stries, and in playing a critical role in long-term economic growth. F or this reason, there has been a proliferation of infrastructures aime d at facilitating the diffusion of innovation both among firms and bet ween universities and firms. Most of these structures, however, are ch aracterised by a high percentage of fixed resources, in terms of physi cal assets and employees. This paper demonstrates the emerging role of more 'flexible' infrastructures, both as direct providers of services and as coordinators of existing, specialised infrastructures. The pap er is structured into two sections. The first section presents a theor etical framework illustrating the different possible technology transf er patterns (in terms of kinds of source, recipients, characteristics of transferred knowledge, as well as infrastructures that should be in volved). This variety of processes (each of them implying distinctive competences) inevitably leads to a proliferation of organisations, whi ch seems to be the natural response to the need for tailored solutions . However, such structures often face serious cost troubles, mainly du e to a lack of a critical mass of demand. Moreover, even in the presen ce of a sufficient level of demand, the ever-growing dynamics of innov ation should dissuade one from allocating dedicated resources to very specialised support infrastructures, since the relative importance of the different technological competences changes rapidly and new knowle dge is continuously required. What emerges from these considerations i s the need for 'lean' infrastructures, characterised by a low level of fixed resources and hence bq a high capacity to adapt to sudden chang es in the environmental context. The second section of the paper descr ibes how these considerations have been used for the design of a speci fic technology transfer infrastructure in the biomedical industry, cal led the experts' network. This initiative is part of Innovation Plaza, a joint project of Politecnico di Milano and the Chamber of Commerce of Milan, aimed at facilitating the flow of scientific knowledge from Politecnico University (and its associate research centres) to small a nd medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the northern regions of Ital y, particularly in Lombardia. The objective of the experts' network is to provide SMEs with some preferential gateways to reach the world of academic research and gather useful information. The paper ends with an illustration of the early outcome of this particular initiative. (C ) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.