TLS: Revealing Innovation Pathways

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The innovation potential of New and Emerging Sciences and Technologies (NESTs) is great, but also fraught with uncertainty. The choice of appropriate innovation pathways is crucial so that development pursues the most promising applications, both in technological terms and to meet market and societal needs. This project develops a methodological framework and associated tools to analyze NESTs to help policy makers and R&D managers make decisions. The particular focus is on Molecular Diagnostics and Nano-enhanced Drug Delivery Systems, Intellectual Merit: The project builds on previous work advancing text mining of Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) data, STI indicators, and science mapping (see www.idr.gatech.edu). These approaches and tools have proven useful in research assessments, particularly of interdisciplinary research. The project adapts these tools to permit prospective analyses of technological applications using both quantitative and qualitative approaches to illuminate potential innovation pathways for emerging technologies under study. The particular approach used is a multi-perspective mapping methodology that connects the scientific developments and the visions that drive technological innovation. Broader impactThe design of the study is to engage a range of stakeholders, policy-makers, and R&D managers -- specifically those engaged with NESTs and in biomedical research. One aim is to enhance visual representations of innovation processes by providing novel and accessible biomedical research maps (based on NIH descriptors) and technology maps (based on patent classes) to enable users to locate R&D activities in the STI landscape. The two NEST case studies improve the translation of biomedical research into healthcare gains. In sum, the tools help science policy-makers, and technology managers devise and execute effective technology development strategies.