Call for experts: Consultancy Mission for the Support of Technology Transfer in Lebanon

The technical assistance mission is conducted as a follow-up of the public-private dialogue conducted during advocacy panel meetings taking place in Lebanon within the initiative. 

Acting as a Task Force at national level, the objective of THE NEXT SOCIETY Advocacy Panel is to oversee innovation roadmap formulation, its implementation, evaluation and update, with the objective of strengthen the national Innovation system, foster coordination among actors involved and improve concrete instruments of the innovation policy. This panel is composed of Lebanese private sector representatives and investors, innovation stakeholders, relevant Ministries and their agencies, the European Union Delegation to Lebanon as well as academic experts. 

The First advocacy panel held in 2017 identified technology transfer as one of the main issues to be tackled to reinforce the Lebanese innovation ecosystem. Following this first meeting, a new advocacy panel held in September 2018 intended to identify in technology transfer field priorities on which THE NEXT SOCIETY will provide an expertise. 

The panel’s members highlighted that Lebanese researchers are good publishers but there is a need to incentive them and create rewards systems to push them to develop projects with a commercialization potential, patenting etc. The Lebanese ecosystem is indeed challenged by the lack of funding for applied research, lack of IP policies and support as well as weak links between universities research and industrial needs. 

Generally speaking, there is a need to plant innovation seed in academia. Panel’s members also highlight that most industries claim to be innovative, but they don’t even have an R&D department, which is crucial for innovation. Therefore, there is a need to develop the technology transfer landscape and encourage the development of research that address market needs being turned into commercial growing startups, or better connected with industrialists. Based on these observations, below are the main findings of the advocacy panel: 

• Lack of support and finance for applied research 
• Lack of awareness and linkages between academia and industry 
• Lack of synergies between existing initiatives in technology transfer field 
• Lack of coordination among universities 
• Lack of data available on technology transfer 
• Lack of incentives and clear policies in universities that encourage the development of applied research with a commercial potential 

Format and objectives of the mission 

This call is open for Lebanese and international experts, provided the proposal includes at least one Lebanese expert, knowledgeable in the field. The two selected experts will conduct the mission with the objective of improving the process of technology transfer landscape in the country. To do so, they will propose a methodology able to empower researchers and students’ end of year projects in the process of turning their research projects into viable businesses. 

The experts will be in charge of defining a financing mechanism and a reward system for applied research adapted to the Lebanese academic context in order to incentivize researchers to develop projects with a commercialization potential that can be adapted to the needs of at least 5 universities in Lebanon. 

This work will have to include the following components: 

• Design of a mechanism that includes a funding instrument for applied research macro level 
• Development of an innovation policy for universities that allow clear process for technology transfer, ownership model and IP operations (in line with their internal systems and policies) adapted for the Lebanese context. 
• Design of a reward system – including its operational functioning- according to the needs and to be implemented in top 5 universities in Lebanon, ensuring linkages and synergies with industrial actors and their needs (defining exact incentives needed for researchers) micro-meso level 

Activities that must be carried out to understand the context: 

• Desk review of existing reports developed on technology transfer and innovation at university; 
• Identification of existing initiatives that support technology transfer and interviews with team leaders; 
• Interviews with top 5 universities, assessment of their needs and current tech transfer/IP process; 
• Interviews with top innovation stakeholders (national research institutions, IP firms, incubators, technology enablers…); 
• Interviews with top 5 industrial stakeholders 

Collaborative framework 

The mission is expected to start in March 2019 and for one-month timeframe. For its whole duration, the experts will work in close collaboration with Berytech and more widely with the stakeholders of the Lebanese innovation ecosystem. The consultants will work targeting the needs of top 10 universities and a specific attention will be paid to foster a continuous collaborative work between universities and private sector actors. 

Deliverables of the mission 

• A technical assistance mission report that includes: 

• International technology transfer best practices, 
• Policy recommendations and technology transfer/IP process in line with internal innovation policy of universities and market needs 
• Analysis of industrial growing sectors and market needs 

• Development of an adapted reward system (incentives) for researchers included in a comprehensive funding mechanism for applied research and innovation policy in 5 universities. 
• Development of a funding mechanism that is adapted to applied research and can be implemented in Lebanon (process, mechanism, functionality, criteria…) 

The report should be delivered in April 2019 the latest and experts will present the mission outcomes during the advocacy panel of THE NEXT SOCIETY in Lebanon planned in May 2019. 

The report developed including outcomes and findings, will be used to build a program that can be adapted to Lebanon to grow technology transfer and the document will be used to explore fundraising opportunities in order to implement it. 

Budget & payment conditions 

The budget allocated for the entire mission must include all mission costs, including travel costs (travel ticket and subsistence costs in Beirut if necessary) 

THE NEXT SOCIETY management team will proceed to the payment of the estimated costs the latest 2 months after completion of the action and the validation of its deliverables.