The National Survey of Research Commercialisation (NSRC) is a survey of research commercialisation inputs, activity and outputs for Australian publicly funded research organisations (PFROs) (Universities, Publicly Funded Research Agencies and a range of Medical Research Institutes). It typically surveys approximately 70 institutions and is undertaken on a biennial basis.
The key metrics addressed through the survey are:
- Numbers of research commercialisation staff employed and associated costs
- Levels of patenting activity (filings, grants and holdings)
- Volume and value of licensing, optioning and/or the assigning of intellectual property
- Numbers of start-up companies launched and continuing, and the value of associated equity holdings
- Volume and value of contract research and consultancy activity
- Research commercialisation training inputs and outputs (starting with the third iteration).
The sixth NSRC report covering the years 2010 and 2011 is now available (released December 2012). For the first time, a chapter on intellectual property activity has been included to develop a greater understanding of Australian PFROs commercialisation activity. Previous reports are available on the Department of Industry & Innovation website.
