CENTRE FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (CTT)

Key words:

Transfer of technology, Start-ups spin-offs incubation

Region:

Kuyavia-Pomerania Voivodship, Poland

Programme type:

Phare ESC 2001

Duration of project:

October 2002 December 2004

Funding:

Total cost: 1.8 million, including approx. 1.25

million from the EU pre-accession contribution

From 2002 to 2004, the EU pre-accession funds were used to construct the
Centre for Technology Transfer (CTT) which has subsequently become the heart
of the recently established Torun Technology Park. The key objective of the
project was to create an inviting environment for entrepreneurs working in the
area of high technologies, as well as scientists interested in commercialising their
ideas.
This project offered entrepreneurs professional advisory services in a variety of
domains, ranging from setting up businesses to financing technology transfer related
ventures. In the national and regional context, the way in which the Centre for
Technology Transfer approaches its clients is innovative. Staff at CTT systematically
analyse market actors and on this basis offer tailor-made services, such as consultancy
and training.
The Regional Development Agency has played a key role between the political level,
(necessary for developing the project) and the business world which is the project's
main beneficiary. The Regional Development Agency owns the Park and is
responsible for distributing the EU grants for SME initiatives in the region. For more
than two decades, the agency has had an intermediary and pilot role. Although the
University has not been directly involved in planning or building the Centre, it has
become a key actor in the later stages.
The concrete results of the project were:

6 buildings with facilities of 8,660 m2

four technology halls with resource bases of 4,720 m2
86 offices from 12 to 50 m2, in total 2,630 m2
a modern conference room, 2 training rooms and a computer laboratory
two meeting rooms
a lunch bar with catering facilities

These achievements should be considered in the wider context of the TTP where, at
present, nearly all the space is rented by a total of 28 firms employing over 240
people.
In a less developed area with a recent history of technology and a large potential for
cutting-edge academic know-how, this project has made the first crucial step in
encouraging co-operation between industry and the scientific community. In time, this
should lead to technology transfers between the key partners and concrete initiatives
which will increase innovation in this region.

I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Project objectives
This project was created in order to address the issues of weak competition among
small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of implementing new technologies,
poor management, and an underqualified labour force. In Poland there is plenty of
know-how, but little transferring of this know-how to enterprises themselves or for
setting up new companies.
The projects aim was to deliver cheap and high-quality office, technological and
industrial space for entrepreneurs in the early stages of their business, in particular
those interested in the commercialisation of their ideas.
The key objectives of the project were to create a well-equipped and hospitable
location for both entrepreneurs working in the area of high technologies and scientists
interested in the commercialisation of their ideas. The project combined the
concentration of a complex offer of production and office space in a single location
with a wide scope of specialised services for economic activity. The services listed are
provided through specific projects performed by the Centre for Technology Transfer,
namely:
-

Regional Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer Support;

Euro Info Centre PL414 (a member of the European network launched by DG
Enterprise & Industry);
Consultation Point (part of the National Service System managed by the
Polish Agency for Enterprise Development);
Regional branch clusters;
Examination of the technological needs of companies;
Engineer Storehouse and Database of Innovation;
Fire-up to create a support mechanism for the development of innovative
offshoot companies from Nicholas Copernicus in Torun;
Econometrical Analysis Team;
Assessment of an enterprises potential as a key to its success;
IT training courses as a fundamental part of business competitiveness;
The 21st Century Company (a training programme supporting e-business
development).

Description/type of activity:
Towards the end of 2002, the Centre for Technology Transfer (CTT) project in
Torun was launched by the Torun Regional Development Agency (TRDA) in

collaboration with the Marshalls Office of Kuyavia-Pomerania Voivodship. By 2004

construction work had been completed.
The Centre for Technology Transfer (CTT) project included preparation of the
technological and production infrastructure as well as office premises for the
companies. Apart from some 5% of overhead costs, allocated funding was used
entirely for creating the planned infrastructure.
Since its construction in 2004, CTT has become the beating heart of the Technology
Park, where it offers a full range of training and consulting services to the companies
housed there. However, many other companies from outside the Technology Park also
take advantage of these services and opportunities. In the Kuyavia-Pomerania region,
never before had there been a project like the Centre for Technology Transfer. Its
continuous active cooperation with the main academic centres (i.e. Nicholas
Copernicus University in Torun, University of Technology and Life Sciences in
Bydgoszcz, Metalchem Institute for Plastics Processing in Torun) is a source of
high-level innovation leading to new or more advanced activities for existing and
newly created businesses.
For this purpose, CTT comprises office and industrial infrastructure space of over
5 000 m2. Additionally, TRDA has modernised further buildings providing a total
surface of over 3 500 m2. As a result, 86 offices, four industrial spaces, one modern
conference room, two training rooms and a computer training room have been
created. The whole complex consists of six buildings with a total surface of 8 660 m2,
all of them located on the Technology Parks 3.5 ha site. All buildings and the entire
site are electronically and physically monitored.
Three advisory offices providing innovation services have been created on site. One
of these has been conducting technology audits with the aim, inter alia, of identifying
companies capacities for cooperation. As a result, one of the CTT offices initiated
activities to promote the establishment of trade clusters.
Beneficiaries:
The project aims to develop companies searching for a new and attractive location
from which to run their business. These could be entrepreneurs active regionally or
internationally, or also foreign investors interested in starting a business in Poland.
Since CTT is not only a place to invest, any parties interested in its range of services
are free to use its resources. The location of the project provides companies with
qualified human resources courtesy of the proximity of the regional universities,
which each year send thousands of graduates into the labour market. Apart from
students, researchers form another target group for CTT, which aims to commercialise
scientific projects and encourage the creation of spin-off companies.

II. POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC CONTEXT

Strategic context:
The CTT project was the first initiative of this kind and stemmed from priorities under
the Regional Innovation Strategy. The initiative to develop the site and offer services
there has taken particular advantage of support from the city of Torun.

The co-financed PHARE project was in fact the first phase of a more ambitious threestage plan. After the creation of the Technology Transfer Centre, the Torun
Technology Park was initiated and will be developed further.
I.

II.

III.

2002-2004 period: construction of the Centre for Technology Transfer

(CTT), mainly the building of new facilities (5 000 m2) and the
refurbishment of existing ones (3 600 m2)
2004-2007: creation of the Torun Technology Park (TTP), entailing the
provision of a technical infrastructure covering 10.5 hectares of business
plots, plus the resolving of its legal status
2008-2013: development of the TTP industrial infrastructure, with the
building of facilities covering 5 000 m2 and providing a technical
infrastructure extending across 35 hectares.

Innovation:
The main innovative element of this venture was its attempt to provide an integrated
and complex service offer to businesses. An entrepreneur arriving at CTT can be
provided with professional advisory services in a variety of domains, ranging from
business start-ups through to the financing of technology transfer-related ventures and
everything in between.
Within the national and regional context in particular, the way the Centre for
Technology Transfer approaches its clients is innovative: staff at CTT systematically
analyse market actors and, on this basis, provide a tailor-made selection of specific
services (consultancy and training). The complex offer from CTT is the one that best
reflects the market demand for the individual company. For the above, the Centre for
Technology Transfer works in cooperation with scientists from the Faculty of
Economic Sciences and Management at the Nicolaus Copernicus University. These
specialists analyse specific industries identified as the most important to the region:
food and agricultural, tools, furniture, printing, biotechnology, and ICT. For their
analysis, scientists use research questionnaires and in-depth interviewing techniques.
In parallel with the research carried out, a branch database of experts (the Engineer
Storehouse, which contains details of 2 500 engineers and 180 engineering teams in
42 different sectors plus 150 R&D institutions) can be consulted by enterprises. This
tool is unique in Poland. It provides entrepreneurs arriving at CTT and facing a
particular technological problem with contact details for specialists in the appropriate
field from right across the country.
The Regional Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer Support, working as
part of CTT, maintains and develops a dedicated database of technological services
(the Database of Innovation). Each entity which has a particular technological
solution has the possibility to offer and promote itself vis--vis companies. The
database is open both to companies within CTT and any other company from
anywhere in the country; however, only regional companies are allowed to record
their technological profiles in the database. Others can only browse it in order to
search for potentially useful technological solutions. The database of innovation is
available online via the website of the Regional Centre for Innovation and
Technology Transfer Support. The registration process includes filling out a special
form which is sent to the staff of the above-mentioned regional centre and then
encoded in the database.

A major success of CTT is that the majority of projects applying for co-financing
from EU funds (Phare ESC 2001) have succeeded in being selected. Moreover, they
have featured on or near the top of the ranking lists published by the implementing
bodies. It should also be mentioned that guidelines governing EU programmes place
particular emphasis on innovation elements; thus, top positions in the project rankings
offer confirmation of CTTs high-level innovativeness.
Political support:
The park was established and managed by the Torun Regional Development Agency.
The foundation of the park is a joint initiative between the regional and local
authorities and Nicolaus Copernicus University.
Most public initiatives triggering the project came from city hall, but support
subsequently also came from regional and national politicians.

III. IMPLEMENTATION
Programming:
Because of the poor track record of know-how transfers between important sources of
research (university) and the technically less developed companies in the region, the
Regional Innovation Strategy defined the creation of the Centre for Technology
Transfer as a key element in the development of the region towards more innovative
companies. Its position near the city and the presence of a number of infrastructure
facilities determined where the Centre would be located, especially since it only
marked the start of a bigger plan leading to the development of the Torun Technology
Park.
The main steps consisted of property acquisitions, infrastructure improvements, the
construction of one new building and the refurbishing of five existing buildings on the
site.
The fact that CTT provided the basis for developing the technology park illustrates
the projects sustainability. It could probably be transferred to other regions with
similar social and economic potential in the eastern part of Europe where there are
few entities providing services aimed at business support and technology transfer.
There should definitely be some scientific environment with an interest in cooperation
with business and, conversely, those same companies must be keen to collaborate
with R&D institutions. Such a situation in the Kuyavia-Pomerania Voivodship was
one of the decisive factors behind the CTT project.
Management structure quality and effectiveness:
The Regional Development Agency has played a key role between the political level necessary in order to develop the project - and the business world, which was the
intended beneficiary. It has a long-standing tradition of looking for the right balance
between supply and demand and tries to involve both these and other key actors
(universities) in consensus-building.
Partnership:

The Regional Development Agency owns the park and at the same time is responsible
for co-financing SME initiatives in the region. The Agency was established in 1995
and has since then played an intermediary and pilot role.
The University has not been directly involved in the planning or building of the
Centre, but was a key actor in later stages. Moreover, the President of the Board in
charge of the Development Agency is an ex-university professor, which highlights the
desire to establish a close and active relationship between the academic and business
worlds.
Marketing:
Information about the project was widely disseminated through various mass media
and other promotional channels. Six articles were published in the regional press and
another two in national newspapers. There was also TV and radio coverage of the
opening ceremony of the Centre for Technology Transfer, accompanied by interviews
with the President of the Board of the Agency. 5 000 leaflets and 1 750 brochures
describing CTT/TTP were produced. Additionally, a huge billboard was erected as
well as three directional boards pointing towards CTT/TTPs location.
Obstacles in terms of design or implementation:
The project faced some problems during its implementation. The bulk of these can be
described as follows:
- at the very beginning, companies were not very interested in running their
business activity from the Centre because of its location in Torun (on the lessdeveloped outskirts of the city) and there was a lack of trust in a new entity.
The problem was overcome directly by attracting a key investor, which made
the Centre a credible partner for business. It was also resolved indirectly by
the construction of the southern bypass around Torun, close to the Centre,
which greatly facilitated traffic access;
- legal loopholes on public procurement were a major obstacle while
constructing the Centre as it took a lot of time to finalise arrangements with
the contractor. A solution for this was to win backing from the implementing
authority, which allowed completion periods to be extended;
- initially, local universities were not keen on cooperation with CTT. The
situation changed after they had been invited to take part in various projects
offering them some benefits.
Transferability:
As mentioned earlier, a project akin to CTT is transferable, but more to another region
than to another sector. The scope of such a project should first be determined by
conducting a needs analysis within a region, in order to produce a matching package
of required services. Those services could be supplemented to cater for local demand.
They could focus more on companies running businesses within such a centre (the
CTT project has more of a regional character).
In terms of obstacles, the first might simply be competition in the region. If there was
already an organisation providing similar services, completion of a CTT-style project
would make no sense. There should be a common consensus among local authorities,
politicians, academics and business as to the necessity of CTTs creation, supported

preferably by needs analysis and strategic documents, because consistency with such
general guidelines for the region is very important: it is a sign of consensus among the
various interested parties. The final obstacle is the most obvious: without any funding,
no investment project can be implemented.

IV. EFFECTIVENESS
Effectiveness:
The objectives were clear-cut and have all been achieved:
Six buildings with facilities covering 8 660 m2:
- four technology halls with resource bases of 4 720 m2
- 86 offices of between 12 and 50 m2 in a total surface area of 2 630 m2
- a modern conference room, two training rooms and a computer laboratory
- two meeting rooms
- lunch bar with catering
Status as of January 2008
-

28 firms operating within the TTP area

over 240 people employed
98% of available space rented out

As a result of the project, SMEs gained access to production, office and training
space. CTT provides advisory services in the area of business plan development,
funds acquisition and specialised service applications. Furthermore, the Centre
provides support with marketing technology, industrial property protection,
engineering work and company management. Additionally, B+R (full regional offer)
is being promoted and its results transferred to the private sector. CTT also
popularises innovative attitudes and technological, organisational as well as economic
progress within society.
Impact:
Apart from the physical construction and refurbishment of the Centre, as was cofinanced using the assigned PHARE funding, results so far have been as follows:
-

Regional Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer Support

Euro Info Centre PL414
Consultation Point
development of regional branch clusters
examination of companies technological needs
launch of the Engineer Warehouse: this database contains details on the
work of scientists from universities and allows finding and easy
communication with specialists possessing the appropriate technological
solutions
launch of the Database of Innovation a special database of technological
services

fire-up project to assist scientists in setting up their offshoot companies. This

project analysed the scientific and research projects of Nicholas Copernicus
University in order to use their results in business. Nine potential projects
were identified as having commercialisation potential. At present, work on
protecting intellectual property rights and searching for new investors is being
carried out. The rules on commercialising research results and creating
offshoot companies at the University are the direct consequence of the project.

Apart from the above projects, training courses, conferences and workshops are
organised in the areas of IT technology applications in economic activity, technology
transfer, industrial property protection, company management and the acquiring of
EU funds for company development. Annually, some 2 000 people are trained at
CTT. In this field, CTT/TTP has introduced the following training projects:
- estimation of an enterprises potential as a key to its success
- IT training as a fundamental of enterprise competitiveness
- the 21st Century Company: a training programme supporting e-business
development.
Another telling example of cooperation with Nicholas Copernicus University is the
Econometrical Analysis Team. The aim of the project is to prepare econometrical and
comparative analyses which can be used in economic and business activity. Not only
can enterprises act as recipients of the results from such work, but also as selfregulated units.
The Centre for Technology Transfer in Torun is the first project of its kind and size in
the Kuyavia-Pomerania Voivodship. Therefore, it has since served as an example for
many different projects, e.g. the Regional Centre for Innovation and Technological
Transfer Support (RCITTS), and for the creation of many sectoral clusters. CTT is
considered a benchmark for delivering effective services for entrepreneurs not only in
Torun, but across the entire region. By locating complex services, including
consultation and training, in the same place, entrepreneurs have been able to take
advantage of access to production, office and training space.
The concentration of high-tech activity in and around CTT constantly stimulates
innovation and raises the overall level of technology in the institution and thus of
projects aiming to support innovative initiatives in the Kuyavia-Pomerania
Voivodship. Such actions contribute significantly to modernisation of the technology
base for companies and research centres.
Examples of other influencing factors resulting from project completion:
-

new jobs (over 240 by 2008 and another 300 to 400 expected as a result of
making investment lots available for companies). These jobs will consist
approximately of 40% white-collar and 60% blue-collar posts (including
engineers);

creating favourable conditions for running a business (approx. 35 companies);

some 2 000 people trained each year;

overall promotion of entrepreneurship and various types of cooperation

between companies, specifically the creation of four trade clusters.

The institution administering the Centre for Technology Transfer is the Torun
Regional Development Agency. Long-term performance within the local market has
produced an extensive network of cooperation with companies, local authorities, local
communities, research centres and business support centres. Most of these entities are
directly or indirectly involved in accomplishing the above-mentioned projects. By
virtue of this, they become active participants in the process of fostering and
broadening innovation. Moreover, some of these relations became formalised through
letters of intent and agreements. Such pledges guarantee that in future these entities
will be interested in the joint set-up of a system taking an innovative approach to
social and economic problems in the region. An illustration of this is cooperation by
TRDA as a partner in devising the Regional Innovation Strategy for KuyaviaPomerania Voivodship, 2002-2004. Examples of how pro-innovation projects are
accomplished by TRDA, thereby establishing cooperation agreements with research
centres and business support centres, are:
-

the letter of intent, in which Nicolas Copernicus University in Torun

articulates its interest and readiness to participate in the Fire-Up project to
create a support mechanism for the development of innovative companies
derived from Nicholas Copernicus University in Torun;
formal agreement on creating an industrial cluster in Bydgoszcz, signed on 28
September 2006 by 28 representatives of companies and scientific and
economic institutions;
formal agreement on creating a wood and furniture cluster in the KuyaviaPomerania region, signed on 6 December 2007 by six representatives of
companies and scientific and economic institutions;
cooperation agreement between the Torun Regional Development Agency and
the Polish Artists Union;
cooperation agreement between the FIRE Innovation Centre, Torun Regional
Development Agency and Amicus Universitatis Nicolai Copernicus;
agreement on establishing the Torun Technological and Industrial Park was
signed by the Marshall's Office of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship, the
Industrial Development Agency, Torun City Hall, Nicolas Copernicus
University in Torun, the Elana company, and the Torun Regional
Development Agency.

Sustainability:
CTT has been run by the Torun Regional Development Agency (TRDA), which is a
non-profit company and therefore obliged to use any profits for statutory purposes. In
practice, this means implementing many types of actions and projects aimed at
supporting entrepreneurship development. Over the years, TRDA has accumulated
profits that have provided essential financial backing for project realisation.
CTT is not a stand-alone body, but a key element within a bigger project, namely the
Torun Technology Park. TTP runs many projects in support of entrepreneurship
development, innovation and technology transfer. By delivering firm opportunities to
run a business and opening up access to consultancy and infrastructure, TTP helps to
boost socio-economic sustainability within cities and regions, attracting new
investments and implementing new technologies and leading, in turn, to the creation

of new jobs. TTP and CTT create conditions for economic expansion in the region by
supporting initiatives for quality products, good management and sectoral clusters.
The project itself (investment stage) was completed in December 2004, but carried on
after EU funding had ended. Its development is currently self-financing.
In order to appreciate the projects status, it is crucial to know that a direct result of its
realisation was the birth of another project connected with establishing Torun
Technology Park in the area adjacent to the CTT. After the project had been
implemented, CTT became the nucleus of the newly created technology park. This
project was implemented between December 2004 and March 2007 and co-financed
by the Structural Funds within the framework of the Increase in Competitiveness of
Enterprises Sectoral Operational Programme. The implementation of this particular
project allowed 10 hectares within the park zone to be equipped with the technical
infrastructure necessary for businesses interested in investments in the region. The
project included road-building, water, drainage and sanitation systems, electrical
installations and soil re-cultivation. Business activity to be launched on the prepared
site is expected to result in the creation of 300 to 400 jobs. The subsequent organic
phase of project development will see the broadening of the techno-industrial
infrastructure in the CTT zone (3.4 hectares), which will be made available to
businesses.
The
proposed
buildings
will
provide
over
2
5 000 m of public space. Simultaneously, additional work will be continued,
investing in a combined surface area of 36 hectares in the city of Torun. These
ventures are planned for the period 2008-13. Apart from the projects linked to the
creation of business infrastructures, which will continue (12 projects completed in
2007), others will be launched in the area of innovation, training and consulting.

V. CONCLUSIONS
Lessons learnt:
-

insufficient PR action in the field of projects being implemented, including

CTT, results in indifference from some groups, for instance smaller
universities, R&D entities and social groups not directly interested in CTT
activity. In conclusion, at each stage of project implementation well-devised
and professionally planned PR action should be conducted. This will facilitate
achieving short-term as well as strategic aims by such bodies as CTT which
are uncommon in the region and therefore need to make extra efforts in this
regard in order to increase common social understanding;
lack of any clear or simple message on such a complex and multi-staged
venture (as CTT) aimed at target groups. This results in misinterpretation of
CTT goals, tasks and activities by potential clients and the local community.
Such messages should be formulated and adjusted to the specific group they
are addressing and thus allow recipients clearly to grasp the benefits of CTT
activity as well as recognise offers prepared directly for them.
even a regional project can attract international partners for project investment
or cooperation purposes. CTT encouraged a French company to start up its
business in the Kuyavia-Pomerania Voivodship. For that purpose, well-trained
staff need to be employed;
creating favourable financial and technical conditions for running a business
as well as added value such as consultancy services will result in the optimal

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exploitation of CTT facilities by companies. Not only companies operating

locally, but also at regional or national level, are interested and satisfied with
the advisory services and training courses provided by CTT. This is a
consequence of regular needs analysis and then adjusting CTTs offer to meet
those needs. Furthermore, this offer must be designed in one-stop shop
format, meaning that an interested company can count on receiving complex
help in various areas (information, advisory and training) at a single location.
Good practices:
The following elements can be considered as the main keys to success:
-

a real partnership with the local and regional authorities (providing lobbying),
various entrepreneur organisations as well as regional universities and R&D
institutions, all of which is very important when implementing projects;
paying due care and attention to PR for the project, i.e. developing contacts
with mass media, etc.;
well-defined needs and target groups (in this respect, one particular CTT
project, namely the Regional Centre for Innovation and Technological
Transfer Support, can be cited as a model among other regional projects since
it was recognised as best practice in an appraisal conducted for the Polish
Agency for Enterprise Development);
employing the right human resources capable of rising to the challenge;
the appropriate financial policy, in terms of revenues and costs, in order to
aspire to self-financing;
a defined development strategy divided into stages in terms of existing needs
(changing over time) and adjusted to reflect financial resources.

Contact details:
Michal Sonnak
Enterprise Europe Network office
ul. Wroclawska 167
87-100 Torun
Poland
Tel +48 56 658 89 50
E-mail address: sonnak@tarr.org.pl
www.technopark.org.pl
Briefing date: 17/01/2008

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