On September 17, 2018 Foresight’s Founder, Dr. Phyllis Speser, will speak at the Swedish Network for Innovation & Technology Transfer Support (SNITTS) conference “Innovation by Collaboration.” She will be presenting the keynote titled “Replacing Money with Sustainability: Ethics, Metrics, and International Collaboration”
Learn more about the conference and session here: http://www.innovationbycollaboration.se/ibyc-2017-2/program-ibyc-2018/
Foresight Science & Technology again exhibited at the AUTM Annual Meeting, this year in Phoenix, Arizona February 18th through the 21st.
As always, this event gave us the opportunity to meet with current and future clients.
Foresight Board Chair, Dr. Phyllis Speser, made a presentation to the United Nations Development Programs International Conference on Entrepreneurship in Bangkok Thailand on February 8, 2018. In her talk she focused on how the often discussed tensions between traditional entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship is a false dichotomy. She used the current water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa as an example, noting that if you had a low cost, high volume, efficient water desalination technology which could be implemented in a few months you could make a fortune there. She offered other examples from Thailand and the US which are less dramatic but still money makers. She then explored how to get these new technologies into the market by using an ecosystem approached based on supply chain entry and management. Phyllis concluded by noting successfully entrepreneurs build companies that address real and acknowledged problems. In today’s world of global climate change and population pressure on resources there are amply opportunities to find problems which are both money makes and further sustainable development goals.
The next day, Phyllis meet with student entrepreneurs from the ASEAN region to provide coaching and mentoring on how to make their start-ups thrive
Foresight Board Chair, Dr. Phyllis Speser, made a presentation to the United Nations Development Programs International Conference on Entrepreneurship in Bangkok Thailand on February 8, 2018. In her talk she focused on how the often discussed tensions between traditional entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship is a false dichotomy. She used the current water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa as an example, noting that if you had a low cost, high volume, efficient water desalination technology which could be implemented in a few months you could make a fortune there. She offered other examples from Thailand and the US which are less dramatic but still money makers. She then explored how to get these new technologies into the market by using an ecosystem approached based on supply chain entry and management. Phyllis concluded by noting successfully entrepreneurs build companies that address real and acknowledged problems. In today’s world of global climate change and population pressure on resources there are amply opportunities to find problems which are both money makes and further sustainable development goals.
The next day, Phyllis meet with student entrepreneurs from the ASEAN region to provide coaching and mentoring on how to make their start-ups thrive.
Foresight has received a Phase II SBIR grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to further develop a novel biologically-based method to manage invasive and native pest ant populations, primarily red fire ants. In Phase I, Foresight demonstrated that the compounds negatively affect potential colony queens and cause worker ant mortality. In the Phase II, Foresight will field test prototype bait products with assistance from USDA, Agricultural Research Service through a CRADA. A natural insecticide/bait for Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) control would provide an effective environmentally neutral option that would reduce the need for potentially damaging chemical treatments. The new RIFA bait option will benefit many economic sectors afflicted by RIFAs, such as agriculture, electric & communications, schools, residential households and will support economic development of rural organic farming.
Learn more about the grant here
For further information about Foresight and this project, please contact Norton Kaplan by telephone at: 1-401-354-1342 or by email at: Norton.kaplan@foresightst.com.
For well over 15 years, Foresight has been the Commercialization Support Contractor for the EPA Phase 1&2 SBIR Program. Over the years the program has transformed from generating market data reports to strategic consulting on an individual basis. Feedback from the Awardees along with the commercialization results realized by the participants validate the evolution from “one size fits all” to a flexible and personalized approach is working. The EPA SBIR Kick-off meeting held on October 11, 2017 provided the opportunity for the Foresight Science & Technology Senior Managers to meet directly with the Awardees. What was notable in these meetings was the quality of the preparedness of the participants along with the market knowledge that accompanied the Awardee presentations packages. The emphasis on commercialization and strategies was the focus of the conversations and less on the technology development issues.
On October 10, 2017, Dr. Konstantin Izvolsky, Director of Consulting and Training, and Norton Kaplan, President & COO met with the NOAA SBIR Program Manager and SBIR Commercialization Coordinator to initiate the support of the Phase 2 program for this new contract. As described by NOAA, “The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is “science, service and stewardship from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean.” Foresight will draw upon its 38 years of experience to tailor a 2-year support program for the Phase 2 Awardees that will emphasize the commercialization and market entry of their technologies, products and solutions. Consultative support will be provided that not only strategically guides the participants but also imparts knowledge and awareness of the commercialization process. With the continuing evidence of the economic impact that small businesses have on the economy, the NOAA SBIR program is focused on its modest but important contribution.
Foresight Science & Technology has secured a new contract to provide Commercialization assistance and training for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s SBIR FY17 Phase II Awardees. Foresight will draw upon its 38 years of experience to tailor a 2-year support program for the Phase 2 Awardees that will emphasize the commercialization and market entry of their technologies, products and solutions. Consultative support will be provided that not only strategically guides the participants but also imparts knowledge and awareness of the commercialization process.
Norton Kaplan, Foresight President & COO was an invited speaker at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Strategic Partnership Office (SPO) 23rd Annual New Technology Reporting Program on June 13, 2017. The issuing of patents to the GSFC inventors is a major step in promoting the transfer of GSFC-developed technologies to the private sector. Commercialization starts with recognizing the potential of a NASA technology and then defining the “value proposition” of the technology or solution. The benefits need to be uncovered and articulated so that it becomes attractive to end-users. Validation of these benefits along with the willingness to acquire the technology is next. The key to successful commercialization of a NASA technology lies in the willingness of the inventor to get involved. As most NASA technologies are developed to meet specific mission objectives, the transition to terrestrial markets is not always seamless. Creativity, imagination, and often in-depth engineering must be applied to make this transition. The NASA SPO is focused on these efforts. Congratulations to the award recipients!
Foresight Science & Technology has been awarded a multi-year contract as the sole contractor for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Commercialization Assistance Program by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Through this contract, Foresight will continue to provide direct assistance to Phase I and Phase II small businesses funded by the EPA to develop environmental technologies and products critical to the mission of protecting human health and the environment. Foresight will consult and mentor the small businesses to validate the markets to be served, help identify and overcome commercialization roadblocks, and to assist in identifying partnership opportunities.