How to set up a technology watch?

1. Notification / Registration of the R&D project or program

• The application is made to the Federal Public Service for Programming of Federal Science Policy (electronic tool available on the BELSPO website). The company must identify the personnel benefiting from the (Pr. P) and describe the project(s) or program(s) where it is demonstrated by technical arguments that the purpose of the description is fundamental or industrial research or experimental development.
• Particular emphasis will be placed on the factual elements which demonstrate the innovative nature of the project, a key condition for access to this system.

2. Request for prior opinion from BELSPO

The BELSPO service is authorised to issue binding opinions regarding whether or not this exemption falls within the scope of application.

3. Administrative formalities for those liable for the (Pr. P)

• At regular intervals (minimum once a month), the introduction of a corrective declaration to (Pr. P) which indicates the amounts to be recovered by the beneficiary from the personnel concerned,
• Maintaining a nominal list containing a certain amount of information concerning eligible beneficiaries (information on profiles benefiting from the system on the BELSPO website).

Monitoring is a tool that allows, in a first step, to establish and update the state of the art, but above all, to help the company to make strategic decisions regarding its future development.

In a context of multiplication and internationalisation of information sources in the face of strong competition, technological monitoring must constitute an essential driver of development for the company on the condition that the contours in its implementation are well understood and delimited.

The issue of monitoring is not so much access to information but rather its relevant use for the purposes of providing information to decision-makers.

One of the immediate consequences is that these people must receive the processed information, that is to say analysed, at the right time to be used quickly.

There are many sources for gathering technological information:

• The Web
• Specialist magazines
• Databases
• Patent Libraries
• Research centers
• Centers of excellence
• Universities
• Fairs and exhibitions…

Research centers

Research centers must be considered as valuable partners in a monitoring process
(www.wal-tech.be).

On the one hand, they carry out in-depth technological monitoring in their preferred fields. On the other hand, they organize seminars and conferences, often very specific, during which a state of the art and the perspectives of new technologies are presented. In addition, their normative monitoring allows them to quickly make the connection between the standard and its technical, technological component.

To feed your monitoring, you will also find within the universities (www.lieu.be) and higher education institutions (www.synhera.be) research units related to your activities.

Patents

Another extremely interesting source is patent publications, which remain the essential source for technological monitoring: 80% of technical information (including very explicit sketches) is published only in patents. This source of information allows you to:

• Understanding your competitors’ development policy
• Know the technical developments
• Identify the most popular technical areas
• Avoid “reinventing the wheel” by carrying out a prior art study

To find out about patents, you can:

• Consult databases like esp@cenet managed by the European Patent Office for free
• Use a proxy office like the Kirkpatrick office (kirkpatrick.be), approved for these services and having access to paid databases

The goal of technology monitoring is to stay informed about all technological innovations in order to anticipate changes in the business environment. Note that if the task seems too vast, you can outsource part of your strategic monitoring to specialised organisations. In this case, the definition of monitoring themes and the information sought must be even more precise.