Abstract
We report the experience of the FucoSan InterReg project that had the ambition to generate commercialization opportunities for biotechnology research in a marine environment. Fucoidan, a promising biomarine polysaccharide extracted from seaweed, offers a broad array of potential applications; however, the supporting innovation value chain is still under development. We explore how the use of business modelling tools can contribute to building a shared understanding of commercialization opportunities across a diverse range of research and development actors. We analyze data (interviews, workshops, and surveys) from a German-Danish network of actors involved in the FucoSan InterReg project to identify how the tools contribute to setting up a base to support future activities across a potential innovation value chain. The results point towards the direct and indirect positive effects of engaging in the co-creation of a shared understanding of the functionality and possibilities of promising biomarine products. The findings support the idea that interdisciplinary and multilateral interactions help actors to identify the necessary connections and interdependencies to build a sustainability-driven innovation value chain.
Highlights
Sustainability has taken center stage in public discourse as well as in research funding [1]
Fucoidan is a seaweed polysaccharide found in species such as Laminaria digitata, Saccharina latissima, Fucus vesiculosus, or Fucus distichus subsp. evanescens among other brown macroalgae [6,7]
It allowed us to capture descriptive aspects such as the prior experience participants had in university-industry collaboration (UIC) activities
Summary
Sustainability has taken center stage in public discourse as well as in research funding [1]. Since the approval of the UN’s Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) there has been increased interest across industries in how to advance towards these objectives [2], even if it means sacrificing economic returns or profitability in the short term [3,4,5] This shift has a substantial impact on how we approach and assess science commercialization, as scientists’ discoveries should have an impact on scientific progress, and on society [1]. FucoSan is a four-year (2017–2020), cross-border (German-Danish), research and innovation project in Europe (funded by the European Union). It is focused on a promising biomarine product: fucoidan. We built upon the suggestion to use business modeling tools to bridge the scientific and societal impact dimensions [14,15] in order to generate sustainable commercialization opportunities
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