The workshop “Towards a competence framework for knowledge valorisation intermediaries” brought together around 50 practitioners to discuss the role of knowledge valorisation intermediaries and the competencies they need.
The workshop contributes to the ERA Policy Agenda 2025–2027, in particular the development of a competence framework for knowledge valorisation intermediaries with the aim to build their capacities and strengthen links between academia, industry and public authorities.
Workshop outcomes
The workshop discussions highlighted that knowledge valorisation intermediaries use a broad range of competencies to guide R&I actors through the innovation journey. They provide advice, connect R&I actors with various service providers, and help navigating the iterative processes and feedback loops towards impact. Effective interaction among intermediaries therefore benefits from dynamic coordination, a shared language and mutual understanding of roles.
Key take-aways from the interactive sessions include:
- Intermediaries act as bridges across the R&I ecosystem: based on their mandate, expertise and ability, intermediaries identify, connect, translate and align knowledge, needs, interests and opportunities across different stakeholders. Their typical services include ecosystem intelligence, matchmaking, knowledge translation, intellectual asset management, support for different routes towards impact, testing and validation, spin-off and start-up support, funding guidance, training and awareness raising. Trust-building and communication were seen as fundamental to fulfilling this role.
- Intermediaries interact and form a dynamic ecosystem of complementary services and R&I actors need better guidance where to go for support:
interactions between intermediaries vary depending on their mission, context, the project and the intended route towards impact. Different actors contribute through various forms of support via their expertise, infrastructure, networks and resources often at different stages of the valorisation process. Since services are largely complementary, while some are provided in parallel, better coordination and clearer guidance can help researchers, innovators and other users understand where to go for support. - Intermediaries’ competencies are role-specific but share common foundations:
competencies needed depend on the intermediary’s role and position in the ecosystem. Participants highlighted technical understanding, market and business knowledge, funding and finance, legal and contractual expertise, intellectual asset management and valorisation knowledge. These should be combined with competencies in communication and storytelling, stakeholder engagement and networking, negotiation, and mentoring. - Further competency development through practice and education: participants pointed to further needs for competency development such as strengthening understanding of the full value chain, different valorisation channels, transdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration, stakeholder mobilisation, resilience, adaptability, as well as responsible and tailored use of AI assistance. They favoured practical learning formats for intermediaries such as mentoring, peer exchange, focused training, and cross-sectoral mobility, as well as awareness raising on knowledge valorisation in higher-education, doctoral and researcher training.
Next steps
A Community of Practice will be launched to co-create the building blocks of the competence framework. The competence framework will provide non-binding, customisable guidance to support intermediaries’ capacity building across the European R&I ecosystem.