Need to Knowledge (NtK) Model: an evidence-based framework for generating technological innovations with socio-economic impacts

Background Traditional government policies suggest that upstream investment in scientific research is necessary and sufficient to generate technological innovations. The expected downstream beneficial socio-economic impacts are presumed to occur through non-government market mechanisms. However, there is little quantitative evidence for such a direct and formulaic relationship between public investment at the input end and marketplace benefits at the impact end. Instead, the literature demonstrates that the technological innovation process involves a complex interaction between multiple sectors, methods, and stakeholders. Discussion The authors theorize that accomplishing the full process of technological innovation in a deliberate and systematic manner requires an operational-level model encompassing three underlying methods, each designed to generate knowledge outputs in different states: scientific research generates conceptual discoveries; engineering development generates prototype inventions; and industrial production generates commercial innovations. Given the critical roles of engineering and business, the entire innovation process should continuously consider the practical requirements and constraints of the commercial marketplace. The Need to Knowledge (NtK) Model encompasses the activities required to successfully generate innovations, along with associated strategies for effectively communicating knowledge outputs in all three states to the various stakeholders involved. It is intentionally grounded in evidence drawn from academic analysis to facilitate objective and quantitative scrutiny, and industry best practices to enable practical application. Summary The Need to Knowledge (NtK) Model offers a practical, market-oriented approach that avoids the gaps, constraints and inefficiencies inherent in undirected activities and disconnected sectors. The NtK Model is a means to realizing increased returns on public investments in those science and technology programs expressly intended to generate beneficial socio-economic impacts.

Knowledge brokers are typically involved in the transition of knowledge from one phase or stakeholder to another. An R&D center can act as their own broker depending on their level of familiarity with business practices. Properly planned projects utilize brokers throughout a project, rather than after the outputs are generated. Their inclusion helps to ensure that proper attention is given to the protection of intellectual property, and the appropriate strategy for communicating knowledge in any state. In the jar-opener case, the broker was a part of an R&D center. However, R&D centers often rely on their University's technology transfer offices to fulfill this role.
Policy Officials may not be directly involved in innovation projects, but instead provide the resources and infrastructure which determines what innovation programs should exist, how much funding should be allocated to them, and how their performance will be evaluated in the context of the articulated social and economic goals [31]. In the jar opener example, the actions of policy makers provided the initial funding for the project. These policy officials received the efficacy study data to demonstrate the project's contribution to socio-economic goals, as justification for this technological innovation program.
The managers of technological innovation projects should be mindful of all of these stakeholders from the earliest point of identifying a problem and planning a technology-based solution. These external stakeholders may be critical to progress at any point, and their individual or collective opinions may determine whether or not a project progresses to the next stage or phase.
Incorporating their perspectivesboth positive and negativehelps increase the odds that a project will be successful. Conversely, failing to account for any stakeholder group may raise an insurmountable barrier to progress or eventual market success.

The NtK Model includes communicating knowledge outputs between stakeholders
The PDMA's best practices for new product development assume that the technological innovation process typically all happens within one single organization.

An example of communicating knowledge between stakeholders
Consequently, the NtK Model contains a link from each knowledge output state (discovery, prototype product), to a strategy for effectively communicating that knowledge to targeted stakeholder audiences. Figure 3 depicts the primary elements of the knowledge translation strategy used to communicate discovery outputs to stakeholders such that they can become inputs to the development phase. These knowledge to action strategies are also linked to KT tables that summarize the considerations for communicating knowledge to each of the generic stakeholder groups, along with descriptions of their potential outcomes. As with the NtK's stages and steps, the generic content can be readily tailored for inclusion in any individual innovation project. Commercial transaction for the commercial innovation -One last round of communication between stakeholders occurred during the production phase. Based on positive marketing feedback obtained earlier in the process, the corporation was preparing for a product launch to coincide with the fourth quarter holiday shopping season. The corporation now shifted its focus from early stage production activities to communicating the product's value to the target customers through the creation of informational product packaging as well as a major marketing campaign.
Given the varied ways in which knowledge is communicated at different points in the innovation continuum, the NtK Model needed to represent communication as explicitly as it represented activity within each of the three methods. The modified KTA cycles representing Knowledge Translation, Technology Transfer, and Commercial Transactions, combined with the Stakeholder tables, provide the required level of detail.