PwC Commercial Deal Award

The commercial deal award celebrates excellence in research commercialisation delivering outstanding innovation performance and the potential for generating significant economic impact for New Zealand.

Evaluation Criteria

• The potential to generate commercial benefit for New Zealand, with particular focus on direct or indirect impact on export earnings and New Zealand jobs created.
• The resulting increase in research commercialisation capability and business networks of public research organisations in New Zealand.
• Demonstration of pursuing good technology transfer practice such as: deal negotiation, partnerships, continuous re-evaluation of strategy as the project progresses, perseverance in spite of setbacks, preserving maximum benefit for New Zealand.

MinterEllisonRuddWatts
Research & Business Partnership Award

This award recognises the deeply embedded working relationship between a research organisation and business that delivers significant commercial value for New Zealand.

Evaluation Criteria

• A partnership between business and research organisations where they actively seek to engage with each other and openly exchange ideas.
• The partnership grows researcher understanding of business needs and encourages discoveries with strong market relevance.
• The impact of partnership is demonstrated through research priorities that are focussed on market needs and an acceleration of commercialisation of new discoveries.

Researcher Entrepreneur Award

This award recognises an entrepreneurial researcher who has made outstanding contributions to business innovation or has created innovative businesses in New Zealand through technology licencing, start-up creation or by providing expertise to support business innovation.

Evaluation Criteria

• The researcher’s priorities clearly include focus on innovation which delivers commercial outcomes or meets business needs.
• Demonstration of technology application with strong commercial potential, rather than purely scientific or technological achievement.
• There is active engagement with business to see research applied and taken to market.

Commercialisation Collaboration Award

This award recognises the outstanding new collaborations formed between multiple research organisations working together to build national scale around a technology platform or address a business need.

Evaluation Criteria

• There is clear evidence of open collaboration which breaks down fragmentation between research organisations and encourages business involvement.
• A ‘culture’ of innovation is promoted through characteristics such as: clear vision, leadership, openness to new ideas, flexibility, and encouragement of innovation and inclusion of commercial imperatives.
• The collaboration is recently established (< 3 years) and achieving exceptional results, including enhanced capability for New Zealand to compete internationally.
• Impact of the new collaboration is realised through the delivery of objectives and results, including potential for commercial benefit to NZ.

BNZ Supreme Award

This award celebrates the supreme entry which demonstrates overall excellence in all core areas of research commercialisation.

People’s Choice Award

Recognises the presenter/s voted by their peers for research commercialisation excellence that is well presented and inspires others - the spirit of the KiwiNet Awards!