One of IRD’s main tasks is to see that the findings of research are converted into innovations and development actions. The findings of development research are promoted among policy-makers (with the aimed of informing public policy) and in the business sector. This promotional work comes in many different forms, partnerships and services. These include expert assignments, awareness-raising initiatives, the protection of inventions, technology transfer, and an array of research partnerships with private partners or foundations.
With research partnerships, scientific service provision, corporate sponsorship, transfer of biological materials and confidentiality agreements, an increasing number of researchers are turning to public-private partnerships to bring their research work to fruition. These research partnerships, signed with industrials, entrepreneurs, professional associations, and corporate foundations, encompass the themes of the Institute’s five scientific departments. In 2015, 94 agreements were signed with the private sector for a total amount of over €3.2 million.
The CarSGUY project: a research partnership to measure carbon stocks in soils
In French Guiana, the Eco&Sols unit works with ‘Terres Inovia’, the technical centre for oilseed crops, grain legumes and industrial hemp, as part of the CarSGUY project. It has received ADEME (French environment and energy agency) funding of €174,878 and applies an original deforestation method to assess carbon stocks in soil and look at future trends.
The APEX project: sponsorship to study sharks in New Caledonia
In 2015, the Entropie unit received financial backing from the Total corporate foundation (€100,000) and the PEW Charitable Trusts (€52,778) for a major scientific project studying sharks in the reefs of New Caledonia, in the context of the development of a natural marine park in the Coral Sea. APEX aims to improve the state of knowledge on these top predators and help set up one of the largest marine protected areas in the world.
In 2016, these partnerships will be stepped up, bringing the public and private researcher teams closer together and encouraging long-term collaboration.
As part of awareness-raising, detection and protection of innovation initiatives, five new patent applications were filed in 2015. The number of active patent families in the portfolio stands at 108. Nearly 70% of this portfolio is jointly held with other public and/or private institutions. The percentage of patents jointly held with partner research centres in the Global South is stable at around 30% of the portfolio. IRD is also shareholder in two ‘technology transfer acceleration companies’ (SATT).
The large majority of IRD’s exploitable technologies (73 patent families and 4 other non-patented technologies) have been assigned to CVT Valorisation Sud to seek industrial partners for licence agreements. So far, CVT has formalised two agreements, including one licence agreement with the NGO Graine de Vie. This licence comes in addition to the others already applicable.
A licence agreement to encourage reforestation in Madagascar
After the groundwork done by CVT Valorisation Sud, 2015 saw the signature of a licence agreement with NGO Graine de Vie for use of technology patented by IRD, Cirad and the CNRE1 in Madagascar, designed to recreate vegetation cover in depleted, even barren soil, relying on the ability of certain plants, known as “nurses”, to stimulate the formation of the tree root system when the plants are raised in nurseries. Graine de vie is an NGO formed in 2009. It works to offset the carbon footprint of populations in industrialised countries by planting trees in developing countries. It employs more than 300 people, mainly in Madagascar.
In 2016, IRD will produce an intellectual property charter, to be discussed in the working groups made up of researchers, experts and partners.
More than a hundred innovative entrepreneurs of various origin receive support via the schemes devised and set up by IRD: Bond’Innov (France), iNCubateur in Nouméa (New Caledonia), Innodev incubator (Senegal), Paceim (programme of aid for innovative start-ups) and internal support for spin-off activities.
To increase this number, IRD promotes North-South networking of support structures (incubators, special programmes, etc.) around the initiators of innovative business projects focused on markets in the Global South.
Supporting the creation of innovative businesses in the Mediterranean
Paceim mobilises the expertise of scientific and technical diasporas in France with the ambition of supporting the start-up of a hundred or so innovative businesses in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon. The IRD leads this programme in partnership with around fifteen institutions to the South of the Mediterranean. Last year saw a third group (28 beneficiaries) received backing via Paceim, while the Technopolis group reported back on the outcome of the scheme at the fifth steering committee meeting held at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (MAEDI) in Paris.
To date, Paceim encompasses 86 projects, with 32 start-ups created and a dozen currently being established. The launch of the fourth and final call for projects is planned for 2016. Negotiations are now underway for the construction of a wider scheme covering Europe and Africa.Promoting research and raising awareness about innovation in Côte d’Ivoire
As part of the debt reduction and development contract (CD) signed by France and Côte d’Ivoire, IRD is contributing to the modernisation and reform of universities and grandes écoles in Côte d’Ivoire via the AMRUGE programme. In this respect, it leads training actions designed to promote research and reinforce innovation capacities, working hand-in-hand with the Ivorian Ministry for Higher Education and Scientific Research. In 2015, an initial training cycle was introduced for around fifty beneficiaries, after which a dozen ‘promotion correspondents’ were appointed in each of the Ivorian academic institutions and had the opportunity to work in immersion within the French ecosystem.
With their new expertise, these correspondents will be able to roll out promotional initiatives in their institution and raise awareness among their scientific community (researchers and students). Promotion units may be set up in the universities and research centres in the long term. Work on this component will continue over 2016.
In 2016, work to raise awareness of innovative business creation will be stepped up for research teams. These initiatives will form part of an Innovation Campus project at the Bondy site. Special focus will be given to training and support schemes for young researchers and project initiators. North/South exchanges will be keenly encouraged and there will be specific support for actions involving diasporas.
In 2015, an expert group review was set up on ‘Deep-sea mineral resources in French Polynesia’, commissioned by the French Polynesian government and the French state government. Over the year, the multidisciplinary and multi-institutional panel of experts met three times to utilise and synthesise the available information in the areas of anthropology, economics, the environment, law, geoscience and technology in order to provide input for public policy-making. In addition to the 24 detailed contributions and related mapping, the panel of experts produced a clear and accessible summary report and an executive summary, together with nice consolidated recommendations. The work will be published in 2016 and distributed at the public information session to be held in Papeete in May.
The social science research teams were heavily involved in consulting activities for institutions over 2015, responding to calls for bids (around 20 calls from EuropAid, AFD, United Nations, etc.) and requests from public authorities and private businesses.
Other reports produced in 2015 include ‘in-depth analysis of data on poverty and the job market in Burundi’ from a team in the Dial unit, for the Burundi government with funding from the African Development Bank.
In 2016, there will be further efforts to promote researchers’ skills and expertise among public stakeholders. The goal is to raise the profile of this role as ‘advisors to policy-makers’, which is increasingly in demand.
Expanding the expertise offering and focus on external funding
Centre national de recherches sur l’environnement ↩