Universities generate enormous value in research every day, but many good ideas go unused by the businesses, policymakers, communities and end users for which they were created.
It is not usually a lack of research. It is the missing middle: the gap between the production of knowledge and its understanding, testing, adoption and application by the right people.
Being a good researcher is not the same as being market ready. Academic research creates evidence and contributes to the advancement of knowledge; industry, investors and policymakers ask different questions: What problem does this address? Who needs it? Would it work in the real world? What will it take?
Even a good idea can fail if it is perceived as too soon, too difficult or too abstract. This is not a research problem; it is a translation problem.
The difficulty is one of coordination. Researchers, companies, investors, regulators and users have different priorities, timeframes and expectations.
Translation should start with the problem, not at the end of the research.
Publication matters, but it is not enough to create impact. Impact requires dialogue, connection and shared commitment. Innovation starts when the right people meet at the right time and turn insight into action.
Written by
Graciela Corral de Zubielqui
