Co-operation of CNCP and Institute of Nuclear Physics

The management of INP first encountered CNCP in the summer of 2003. Initial discussions initiated by the representatives of CNCP covered questions relating to the commercialisation of scientific results and the creation of sustainable workplaces for former weapons specialists. About a year after the Programme’s first assessment, some 20 possible projects were put forward. Analysis of these proposals led to the following three being adopted, as the most promising:

• organisation of a unit for neutronactivation analysis;
• production of sealed sources for industry and healthcare;
• organisation of a unit for the production of hydrogel bandages.

In 2005, CNCP provided funding for market research and business planning for these projects. The results indicated good commercial prospects, on the basis of which CNCP allocated over £250,000 of grant money to enable them to be implemented. According to the plans, the completion of these projects will lead to the creation of 70 jobs.

Another form of support which CNCP provides, which is no less important than finance, is assistance in improving the level of qualifications of leading INP specialists in areas of management. Some staff members have taken part in month long training courses in business English in Great Britain. Eighteen individuals have successfully completed accredited courses in management and four have been awarded British Open University diplomas in professional management.

Leading staff members of the Institute have taken part in three business visits to Great Britain to study British experience in the commercialisation of the results of scientific and technical research and the creation of successful businesses.

Evidence of the usefulness of this work is provided by the fact that a further four projects have now been approved with overall funding of £350,000.

Even though the first steps in the development of commercialisation were undertaken in INP at the end of the 90s, life has demonstrated that carrying out properly designed market research and business planning is essential for the successful implementation of such projects and that this is no easy matter for research scientists. Support from CNCP has given INP a real opportunity to position itself in a variety of consumer niches in both internal and international markets.