Survey Definitions for SCOPR

Q2. What was your institution’s total Research Income?

Report the total income for research performed by your institution for the year regardless of the funding source. Research is defined as creative work undertaken on a systematic basis to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.

Australian universities: use total income from HERDC Categories 1, 2, 3 and 4. 

Other institutions: please include all income regardless of the source but exclude charitable donations and Treasury income.

Input all financial values in whole-dollar format (e.g. $1,000,000) and in AUD (Australian institutions) or NZD (New Zealand institutions). 


Q3. What was the total gross income of Research Contracts your institution received from for-profit companies?

Report the total gross income for research received by your institution for the year from for-profit companies. for-profit companies are any Commercial Company in Australia, New Zealand or International. Contracts include any arrangement that provides funding solely for research. 

Australian universities: please provide an estimate based on the methodology used for HERDC Cat 3 sub-sections: Australian for-profit organisations plus International for-profit organisations.  

Other institutions: please use a total of all income from for-profit organisations in Australia, New Zealand or International.

Include:

  • Cash values only
  • Collaborations with a for-profit entity

Exclude:

  • In-kind contributions
  • Consultancies
  • Donations

Input all financial values in whole-dollar format (e.g. $1,000,000) and in AUD (Australian institutions) or NZD (New Zealand institutions).


Q4. What was your institution’s total Research Expenditure?

Report the total expenditure for research performed by your institution for the year regardless of the funding source. Exclude research funded by your institution but performed wholly by another party on your behalf. Except for Rural Research and Development Corporations where the research expenditure is primarily performed by other parties.

For Australian institutions, if applicable, please provide an estimate based on the methodology used to provide your previous responses to the ABS Surveys: Research and Experimental Development, Businesses; Research and Experimental Development, Higher Education and Research; and Experimental Development, Government and Private Non-Profit Organisations.

Alternatively, a research expenditure estimate for the year can be calculated by data extrapolation or regression analysis or using growth rate, depending on which method is most accurate for your institution’s research expenditure data.  

Input all financial values in whole-dollar format (e.g. $1,000,000) and in AUD (Australian institutions) or NZD (New Zealand institutions). 


Q5. How many Researcher FTEs did your institution have?

Report the total number of researcher FTEs for the year, excluding teaching academics and part-time teaching hours for researchers.


Q6. How many Invention Disclosures did your institution receive?

Report the total number of Invention Disclosures for the year.  An Invention Disclosure describes an invention (which may or may not be patentable) in detail and is used to determine its (a) creators, (b) novelty and (c) acceptance by the tech transfer office for social impact and/or commercialisation.

Include disclosures managed by other institutions (national and international) where at least one of the inventors is from your institution.


Q7. How many applications were filed for new Patent Families?

Report the total number of new patent family applications filed for the year.  This represents filing of new inventions and not follow-on filing (PCT, National, Continuation etc.). It is most likely to be a Provisional application but may be a PCT or National filing if this is the first filing in the family.

Include all co-owned applications.


Q8. How many active Patent Families did your institution hold?

Report the total number of active Patent Families. Each active Patent Family comprises all patent applications and follow-on filings for a single invention e.g. where there is a Provisional, a PCT and National filings for a single invention, this counts as one family only.

Include:

  • all active Patent Families in your portfolio whether or not optioned, licensed or assigned to another party
  • all co-owned families

Q9. How many new Non-patented Technologies were approved for technology transfer?

Report the total number of new non-patented technologies for the year. Non-patented technologies mean IP that is neither the subject of a patent nor intended to be the subject of a patent and that you aim to commercialise. 

Count IP such as know-how if it comprises the only IP in an LOA. Count co-owned IP. 

Include:

  • Designs
  • Software and apps
  • Know-how and trade secrets
  • Trademarks
  • Other e.g. Plant breeders’ rights, circuit layouts

Exclude:

  • IP such as know-how / background IP that is included with a patent or other IP as part of an LOA
  • Copyrights

Q10. How many active Non-patented Technologies did your institution hold?

Report the total number of active non-patented technology families.

See definitions under question 9.

Include all active non-patented technology families in your portfolio whether or not optioned, licensed or assigned to another party.


Q11. How many new LOAs did your institution execute?

Report the total number of new LOA’s entered into for the year.

LOAs are:

Licence agreements formalising technology transfer where the owner of the technology (licensor) grants rights to another party (licensee).

Option agreements granting the potential licensee time to evaluate the technology and negotiate the terms of a licence agreement. NB An option clause in a research agreement does NOT constitute an option agreement until the time new IP is created.

Assignment agreements conveying all rights and title to, and interest in, the licensed technology to the assignee.

Include LOAs to:

  • Commercial Companies
  • CRC’s
  • Competitive research grant partners e.g. ARC Linkage and NHMRC Development Grants, but only at the time new IP is created
  • Research partnerships (e.g. through contracts and collaborations), but only at the time new IP is created

Count:

  • Each non-exclusive agreement separately
  • Each deal for a ‘stand-alone’ technology once only i.e. after an option has been signed for existing IP, this cannot be counted a second time when the option is exercised, a licence issued, nor when the IP is assigned
  • Each new ‘stand-alone’ technology that is added to an existing LOA
  • Each ’stand-alone’ technology separately in a multiple licence agreement
  • Only once for multiple personal-use licences to a software product (e.g. an app)
  • LOAs to background IP only for commercial purposes
  • Material Transfer Agreements for commercial purposes
  • LOAs managed/led by co-owner(s) of IP

Exclude:

  • Material Transfer Agreements, including the provision of biological material, unless for commercial purposes
  • Licences to background IP/know-how for research purposes
  • Copyrights
  • Consultancies – until the time new IP is created
  • Contract research and collaborations – until the time new IP is created
  • Inter-institutional agreements/joint inventions, until the time new IP is created

Q12. How many Active LOAs did your institution hold?

Report the total number of Active LOAs.

See definitions under question 11.

Active LOAs may be at any commercialisation stage e.g. they may not be generating revenue currently. 


Q13. What was your institution’s total Research Commercialisation income?

Report the total value of commercialisation income for the year.

Research Commercialisation income is income derived from all your commercialisation activities that involve the granting of rights to your patented and non-patented IP i.e. from all of your active LOAs.

Include:

  • Gross amount (before deduction of any service fees) of all LOA income (licence issue fees, payments under options, annual minimum, running royalties, termination payments, software end-user licences etc)
  • Income received from commercial MTAs including costs covered to make and transfer materials under MTAs
  • Biological material end-user licence fees
  • App sales by your institution
  • Income from the sale of products/services based on your institution’s research expertise or IP
  • Net cashed-in equity, i.e. cash transferred to the institution or its commercialisation company in exchange for equity holdings, less the cost of acquiring the equity, if any

Exclude:

  • Research funding
  • Copyright income
  • Non-cash value exchanged for equity holdings
  • Value of equity not cashed-in
  • Patent expense reimbursement
  • Consultancies, Collaborations and Contract Research – until the time there is commercialisation income associated with a licence, option or assignment when new IP is created

Input all financial values in whole-dollar format (e.g. $1,000,000) and in AUD (Australian institutions) or NZD (New Zealand institutions).


Q14. How many new start-up and spinout companies were incorporated in the year?

Report the total number of new start-up and spinout companies for the year.

Start-up and spinout companies are founded through licensing or assignment of your institution’s technology. Include spinout companies launched by your institution and start-up companies launched by others, based partly or entirely on your institution’s IP, whether or not your institution holds equity in the company.


Q15. How many active start-up and spinout companies existed in which your institution held equity?

Report the total number of active start-up and spinout companies in which your institution holds equity.

A company is active when it has sufficient financial resources to operate and make progress toward stated business goals.

Time elapsed since the company was founded is irrelevant – include all start-ups and spinouts based on your institution’s technology in which you hold equity.  


Q16. What was the total value of the equity in all start-up and spinout holdings in which your institution held equity?

Report the total value of equity of all start-up and spinout companies.

Equity value is determined for annual financial reporting, based on the company’s share price if available OR book value OR commercial value of IP.

Time elapsed since the company was founded is irrelevant – include all start-ups and spinouts based on your institution’s technology in which you hold equity.

Input all financial values in whole-dollar format (e.g. $1,000,000) and in AUD (Australian institutions) or NZD (New Zealand institutions). 


Q17. How many dedicated Full Time Equivalent (FTE) research commercialisation staff were employed in, or engaged by your institution? 

Report the total FTEs employed or engaged during the year.

Dedicated commercialisation staff are persons employed by your institution in either full or fractional FTE allocation whose duties are specifically involved with commercialisation activities such as licensing and patenting processes, licensee solicitation, technology valuation and start-up activity. Exclude lawyers but include administration, marketing and other direct support for commercialisation activities.