The Technology Readiness Measurement Toolkit is said to provide a rigorous and independent assessment of the progress of early stage technologies. One of the benefits is that it could improve communication between investors and entrepreneurs, leading to quicker development of inventions and stronger growth in engineering and exports.
Andrew Mayfield, managing director of MTC’s Business Launch Centre, said: “Britain is a world-leader in innovation, but has a long history of failing to commercialise its inventions.
“Our results show the Toolkit produces accurate and consistent results across different sectors and stages of development.
“This is a significant advance that will help close the gap between Britain’s performance in innovation and commercialisation.”
The MTC project, funded by Innovate UK, is said to improve on Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL) by clarifying and integrating the measurement scales, while incorporating issues such as the readiness of supply chains to deliver necessary components.
Umit Bititci, professor of business performance at Heriot-Watt University, said: “TRLs and MRLs have traditionally been used as a snapshot of progress achieved so far, rather than as a tool to estimate the future time and investment required to get the product to market.
“The new toolkit provides entrepreneurs and investors with a countdown to commercial lift off, accounting for a design for manufacture and manufacturing processes, supply chains, skills and other aspects that underpin business models.
“Investors will have improved confidence, which will increase the flow of funding into promising, early stage technologies.”
