Deshpande Center - Bridging the Innovation Gap

Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation

	Bridging the Gap People Contact Support the Center

What is the Innovation Gap, and what causes it?
In a perfect world, strong technological concepts would always evolve into commercial reality. But that ideal is relatively rare. Several obstacles make it difficult for valuable emerging research to transition out of the laboratory and into the marketplace:

Fear of risk. Even if a new technology addresses a market need, a level of risk remains around implementation, which can prevent VCs and companies from participating. Today, especially, investors demand relatively low-risk opportunities, and require proof-of-concept -- and sometimes even customers -- before they are willing to sign on.
Reduced funding. Economists generally agree that technological innovation has accounted for more than half of America's economic growth since World War II. But US federal spending on basic and applied research has fallen significantly (by 12% as a share of GDP between 1993 and 1997). Additionally, many companies are responding to the growing pressure for short-term returns to stockholders, rather than investing in long-term research.
Financial limitations on small businesses. According to the Small Business Administration, America's 25 million small businesses account for 55% of America's innovations. But by their very definition, these companies have limited resources for identifying and promoting untested technology.
Disconnect between academia and marketplace. MIT owns thousands of pieces of intellectual property, and thousands of companies can trace their roots to MIT-spawned innovation. However, most faculty are necessarily focused on their disciplinary research, rather than commercialization, limiting the likelihood that their innovations will make it to the marketplace.

Why the Innovation Gap matters.
Commercialization is critical for progress-both technological and economic. Not only does it benefit the participating companies and inventors, but also it helps the consumers and businesses who can take advantage of what the technology has to offer.

Imagine the world's loss if the following MIT research doesn't reach the market:

An implantable chip that could restore vision to certain blind individuals.
A technology for regenerating nerves to reverse spinal cord injuries.
A system for cutting back certain vehicular emissions to nearly zero.
A methodology for predicting rainfall months in advance.

The Deshpande Center: committed to bridging the Innovation Gap.
The Center's mission is to increase the impact of MIT technologies in the marketplace and to ensure that good ideas become a reality, by:

Promoting the earliest stages of technology development with grant funding.
Connecting MIT's inventors with the business community (particularly in New England) via symposia, education and other efforts.
Tying MIT's technological research into market needs.

Learn more about how the Deshpande Center addresses the Innovation Gap.