Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has launched a free online tool designed to help small and medium-sized businesses prepare themselves for university partnerships and help them better navigate what can be a highly complex and time-consuming process.

Industry-university partnerships and collaborations with the CSIRO itself have led to countless Australian start-ups and innovations, but getting involved in these collaborations can be difficult for first-time founders, particularly those without existing ties to publicly-funded research organizations.

CSIRO’s new ‘collaboration readiness tool’ — just launched in partnership with the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and RMIT University — aims to lower those barriers.

A simple questionnaire provides businesses with a ‘collaboration readiness level’ based on their leadership capabilities, resources, knowledge-sharing abilities, internal systems, and proven outcomes. That can help business leaders “embark on a conversation with a facilitator, technology officer, researcher or grants officer to accelerate outcomes and project delivery,” the CSIRO says.

From there, the tool provides users with feedback on what programs or partnerships may align best with their business, along with guidance on how to develop their companies to meet an even greater pool of potential partnership opportunities.

The tool also offers relevant contact details and program information, saving founders the hassle of diving through the sea of grants and partnership opportunities themselves. UIEA readers can access the tool here.

Source: SmartCompany