 Guide to Using the CAP Report Builder Please note all information on this page is subject to change. This tool is under constant development and many new features are planned for the future. If you want to print a copy of this page, you may want to use the printer-friendly format If you already are familer with the CAP Report builder, you can start on building a report by going to the CAP 1 section Overall Contents:
What is a
"Commercial Analysis Report?" In order for your organization to effectively market its technology portfolio it must have sufficient knowledge of what you are promoting. Product knowledge is key to any sales or marketing effort and if you can't respond to a prospect's questions in a reasonable amount of time the prospect is lost. We all know how long the time lag can take between receiving a question from a potential customer and retrieving the answer from the inventor. This time lag often occurs repeatedly during commercialization efforts because of the wide spectrum of questions that can be launched by multiple contacts. This lag time is a serious barrier to an effective technology transfer program and can only be avoided by having the answers to frequently asked questions beforehand. A more efficient technology transfer process can be developed by engaging in more thorough research in the beginning phase of the process. A commercial analysis report can help to develop a strong foundation of knowledge from which to spring marketing efforts. The report can answer the many common questions that may become information requirements down the road. The report will also allow your organization to take a cold hard look at the technologies you are promoting to see if they provide any value to the market. And if they do provide value what markets should be targeted in your marketing efforts? The following list provides further questions the report can answer:
The report can answer these questions and act like an archive that documents all the activities, papers and research efforts that have been accomplished for a particular technology. At a later point, managers can find all the information on a technology in one place without having to duplicate previous research. Once your project managers have a completed report they will know exactly which direction to focus marketing efforts. Your managers will now be more effective in targeting potential customers. Money can be saved on patent renewal fees for technologies that have been surpassed in the private sector. Customer questions can quickly be answered without "deal killing" lag times.
What is the
"Report Builder?" The Report Builder is a tool that makes it easy to create a Commercial Assesment Process Report. In fact it makes it easy to mass produce Commercial Assesment Process Reports. All the different steps and tasks needed for creating Commercial Assesment Process Reports have been recorded in a simple and easy-to-use web based application. The step-by-step process allows your organization to utilize lower cost resources for producing the bulk of your research reports giving your project managers the opportunity to oversee multiple report projects at once. Project managers can spend their time reviewing research and providing valuable input during report creation. The clearly laid out process enables a student intern or an assistant to create a report with little training or guidance. When using the report builder tool, your organization can produce standardized reports that will increase efficiency and consistency of quality. The guidelines for producing the report have been developed out of best practices developed over time at the USC ETTC. If your organization has not developed a competency in this area you can now leverage the years of knowledge and experience put into the Report Builder tool. The finished product is a blueprint for marketing your technology.
How does information
flow during the Intern: We use the word intern interchangeaby with assistant throughout this document. This term refers to any support staff which assist the project managers. The intern is the main interface to the public. This person will be the one probing the various commercial entities and collecting information for the report. Once questions and opinions have been gathered, the intern will turn to the project manager for guidance and will provide her/him with additional information requirements. Project Manager: The project manager guides the intern (assistant) and analyzes the various data that the intern has gathered. He/she will determine what additional information is needed and will gather the information from the NASA center that originated the technology. The project manager is the main interface between the RTTC and the NASA center and will be responsible for gathering required information for creating the report and answering industry questions.
TCM: The TCM (Technology Commercialization Manager) is the manager at the NASA center that is in charge of the commercialization efforts for a particular technology. The TCM is invaluable in gathering internal information relating to the technology. They have the ability to utilize their internal connections to facilitate information retrieval. They are also able to personally interface with the inventor and speak on technical terms to gather information that has been requested from the RTTC project manager. Inventor: The inventor or researcher is contacted occasionally to provide answers to specific questions relating to the technology and its potential commercial applications. They may be the original inventor or a researcher who has worked closely on the technology in the past. Industry Experts: People working in the industry who are aware of the latest and best technologies being used. Industry experts may also come from academic backgrounds such as students or professors who are up to date on the latest practices. These industry experts may not be potential licensees but they can give excellent advice on where there is a need for your technology. They will help you decide which private sector companies to target for feedback on the technology. Private Sector Companies: These companies are your target market for license agreements. They are your best candidates for being interested in pursuing a license. After reviewing the technology they will tell you what is good or bad and whether it worth looking into. This can be the most valuable input you will receive. But be sure you have done your research and found the right target market. Trade Organizations: Trade organizations are similar to the industry experts because they are not potential licensees. They will be able to tell you whether your technology provides any benefits to the industry and also have the connections to point you in the right direction for a licensing agreement. A good trade organization can save you a lot of time and resources.
What is
the process for creating a report? Two Stage Process: Building a report is a two stage process. The first stage quickly tests the feasibility of licensing a technology by probing market acceptance. Going on to the second stage gives a total picture of how the technology fits into the market. A report may or may not make it to the second stage depending on it's commercial acceptance in the first stage. The idea is to assess the market for a technology as quickly as possible and to end the research on the project if evidence shows that the technology has low potential for being licensed. Additional resources are not expended on technologies that have little chance of producing a license. NASA can also improve its image as a producer of high quality technologies by choosing to only promote technologies that have a proven potential for licensing. Process Overview (Phase 1): Having selected a technology to do a commercial analysis on, you will begin by collecting as much information on the technology as you can from the NASA center. This can be accomplished by having your TCM fill out a Technology Status Report which is basically a questionnaire that is used to collect answers to the basic information requirements you will need to start talking to industry about the technology. Next you include this information in your report and then start determining which markets to probe based on what you know about the technology. After you have decided on an approach you will begin to create a marketing letter and supporting documentation which will be used to gather information from industry executives. You will use a combination of web pages, email, newsgroups, faxes and phone calls to get a reaction from the industry on it's commercial potential. You will contact company's marketing managers, engineers, trade organizations and experts knowledgeable in their field for the industries you are targeting. The information you gather will be put back into the report and you will reach a conclusion on whether the technology should go onto the second phase or be dropped. Process Overview (Phase 2): After discussing the technology with your TCM you will have determined that the technology is worth expending additional resources for focusing marketing efforts. In the second phase you will begin uncovering articles and talking to the industry to collect data on the market(s) you have chosen with the highest potential for licensing. Information such as market size, whether the industry is growing, trends, etc. will give your organization a much better view of who the top players are, who is likely to license the technology, how to promote it, what characteristics of the technology are most attractive and more. This will be the foundation of future marketing efforts. At this point in time you may have received some positive interest in the technology from companies interested in licensing. You will include any applications you have received and a company background check. The combination of the market information and the company information will give the NASA patent attorneys and others the best chance of success when it comes to making a license agreement.
Click on the numbered circles below to see an explanation of each feature of the report builder tool.
Features List:
What are the system
requirements? The Report Builder tool can be used with any Internet capable PC or Macintosh computer. Your Internet browser must be capable of viewing "Frames" to be able to use the tool and be able to handle simple javascript. The following browsers have been tested and work properly on the Report Builder site: Internet Explorer 3.0 - 5.0 and Netscape Navigator versions 3.0, 4.7 Follow the links below if you need to upgrade your current browser:
When should I use
this tool? The Report Builder tool should be used whenever you are interested in knowing whether a technoloy offers value to the commercial sector and which markets have the best potential for producing a license. This tool can be especially helpful in determining whether to continue paying fees on patents that are coming up for renewal. Another situation where the tool can be especially helpful occurs when newsgroups and other electronic media are the only possible way to get in contact with engineers in high-tech industries such as electronics and software.
|
top
