Evaluation tool for technological project selection in the early stage of innovation: Experiences from the development of the application in a technology transfer office

A Technology transfer office needs to assess their technological project portfolio and are faced with the dilemma of selecting the most promising ones. Moreover, at the earliest stages of technology exist higher technical and market uncertainties as same as unsatisfactory evaluation tools to support the decision. Within this context, we already developed an evaluation tool that aims to assess the portfolio and supports the decision. However, there are some important questions related to the usability and the relevance and other benefits of the evaluation tool. This paper focuses on the experiences, the feedback from applicants/evaluators, and the lessons learned due to the application of the evaluation tool to a technology transfer office project portfolio in order identify the relevance of the evaluation tool as well as to improve the performance and its impact. This study comprises the problems associated with applying the tool, interpreting the results obtained, and foresees the future for the evaluation tool.