Agency Report –
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, has issued a new policy of inter-institute patronage to drive commercialisation of the agency’s products.
Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, the agency’s Director of Information, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja said the policy signed by Khalil Halilu, Executive Vice Chairman, EVC, NASENI.
Mr Ayeoyenikan said the policy seeks to support commercialisation strategies of the agency.
He said it directed all development institutes under the agency to first patronise NASENI products.
According to him, this is with a view to enhancing collaboration and full commercialisation of products and technologies emanating from the agency.
“The policy approved by the EVC highlights the importance of internal endorsement and usage of the agency’s products to build market credibility and strengthen internal collaboration.
“This comes as a critical step toward increasing the adoption and success of NASENI innovations in external markets,” Mr Ayeoyenikan said.
He said the new policy was communicated to acting Managing Directors and Overseeing Officers of NASENI Development Institutes nationwide by the NASENI chief through a memo.
Accordingly, the directive requested the 11 development institutes of NASENI with other emerging ones to patronise one another’s technologies, machines, equipment and innovations as first option.
Mr Ayeoyenikan said this was in line with the procurement laws, before such products would be released to external markets.
“According to the circular, the new commercialisation drive aims at enhancing inter-institute collaboration to support the commercialisation of innovations developed within NASENI institutes.
“The new policy which encourages active promotion, integration and utilisation of products developed within the NASENI ecosystem, will not only boost the internal confidence of the agency’s products.
“It will also help to refine them through real-world applications before being introduced to external markets,” Mr Ayeoyenikan said.
He further listed some key components of the policy to include Mandatory Product Integration, requiring that all institutes should prioritise products developed within NASENI in their procurement plans.
Inter-Institute Product Showcases is another component where bi-annual events will be organised for institutes to showcase their innovations, share insights, and collaborate on integration opportunities.
Also, institutes are encouraged to create mini-showrooms in key urban locations to exhibit both their products and other NASENI innovations.
One of the products is the Internal Pilots and Testing in where each institute will implement internal pilot programmes to test products in real-world settings, providing valuable feedback for further product refinement.
Another product, the Promotion of Cross-Institute Training, entails where training sessions will be conducted across institutes to equip staff with the skills necessary to use and promote products from other institutes effectively.
The Internal Endorsement and Support for Partnerships product is where internal leadership will endorse the usage of NASENI’s products, enhancing market credibility for external commercialisation.
Reporting and Evaluation, another product entails that that a review mechanism will be put in place to monitor the progress and challenges related to product adoption.
According to the new policy it is expected that stronger confidence would be built to enhance internal usage and validation of products, among other targets.
