Why do we need to rethink how innovation is developed and brought to market? Research-based innovation is operating in an increasingly fast-paced environment, where time to market and first-mover advantages are critical. Traditional, academy-driven IP processes are thorough and rigorous and often move at a different pace than business needs. This creates a growing challenge for companies seeking to collaborate with research partners while responding quickly to market opportunities.
In Europe, this challenge is well recognised as the innovation gap between research and commercialisation. It most often emerges in the transition from TRL 4 to 7, a phase where technologies are technically promising but not yet fully aligned with real-world use cases. At this stage, collaboration can become difficult because business requirements, market expectations and societal contexts are not yet fully integrated into innovation development.
Adoption readiness as a missing dimension of innovation
So where do innovation pathways most often lose momentum? Our experience shows that success is strongly linked to how early we address adoption readiness. While increasing Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) remains essential, it is equally important to understand how innovations adapt to end-user needs, market conditions and societal expectations. When this perspective is introduced early, innovations are far better positioned to succeed beyond the lab.
At CLIC, we have encountered this insight repeatedly across our projects and ecosystems. In response, we developed a new service portfolio called CLIC4Impact, designed to complement TRL development with additional readiness perspectives. Alongside TRL, we apply:
- Societal Readiness Level (SRL) to assess societal relevance, alignment with needs, and conditions for use
- Market Readiness Level (MRL) to assess market demand, customer readiness, and competitive positioning
- Commercial Readiness Level (CRL) to assess the viability of the business model in practice, including revenue logic, supply chains, and distribution channels
Together, these readiness levels help innovators test societal fit, market relevance and readiness for investment well before market entry.
A global challenge across innovation systems
Our participation in the ISPIM (International Society for Professional Innovation Management) Conference 2026 in Bangkok further reinforced this perspective. Discussions with innovation professionals from around the world highlighted that the innovation gap is not a uniquely European challenge—it is a global phenomenon, shared across regions and innovation systems.
What then, helps bridge this gap? Both our experience and the insights from ISPIM point in the same direction for successful solution:
- innovators involve actors responsible for commercialization and market entry early on, alongside end-users
- project teams validate real use cases and demand — not only user preferences
- the commercializing actor takes ownership and ensures continuity toward deployment, supported by clear IP arrangements
- programme-level coordination brings together policy, industry, research, finance, and civil society to enable market-shaping actions where needed
- academic institutions align incentive and IP models to support commercialization
By broadening how we define readiness and embedding adoption thinking early on, we can close the gap between technical achievement and real-world adoption — and turn promising research into lasting impact. For more information about our CLIC4Impact services contact tiina.laiho@clicinnovation.fi.
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