If are a small company and you want to recruit a new member of staff to develop a product for sale into a new market then KTP could be for you. The next criteria is that this product development will require the Transfer (the T of KTP) of Knowledge (the K) from a knowledge-based partner – typically a University – to your company. The arrangement is strictly a 3-way interaction between the company, the funding body and the knowledge partner that is closely monitored and often adapted to suit changing circumstances and all the usual roadblocks along the way.
However, it has to be said that from the company perspective this rather formulaic, closely monitored grant scheme leads to excellent results. Once the project becomes funded the advisor provided by the funding body is very flexible about using the scheme to impact the company in the best possible way.
Factors to look out for include: the supportiveness of the University research team, the relationship with the “lead academic”, wo is expected to train the new recruit who quite quickly takes over the reins and drives the project forward. Another factor to remember is that very many Universities have staff capable of leading a KTP and sometimes the most famous researcher will not make the most enthusiastic lead for a KTP. After all, those researchers normally already have a portfolio of research grants and PhD students, so may not be excited at the prospect of having to an industrial company every fortnight to support developing and industrial project.
Due to the excellent, if not overwhelming success of the model most of the associates employed through the scheme are kept on at the parent company and many quickly rise to quite senior positions.