Universities are about ideas. Good ideas. But for ideas to do the most good, to meaningfully impact people’s lives, they have to leave the University and be adopted by the wider world.  Sometimes publishing the idea in a book or the peer-reviewed literature is enough, but sometimes even great ideas need help. That’s where Flinders Partners comes in.

Flinders Partners is the commercial arm of the University and the bridge between the University and industry, helping to transform ideas into innovations. To do this effectively, Flinders Partners need to know what good ideas and innovation are around the University.

Every few years the University, through Flinders Partners, conducts an Opportunity Audit of the research being undertaken at each of the Faculties and Schools to identify, assess and assist research with commercial potential. The latest Opportunity Audit is currently underway.

By identifying promising research early, Flinders Partners can provide appropriate support and assistance; potentially refine the research to increase its commercial potential or attractiveness to a commercial partner; start looking for a suitable commercial partner or path to market; seek seed funding and advise on the most appropriate mechanism to protect the fundamental ideas or intellectual property. The sooner this happens the better the outcome.

So if you are contacted by Flinders Partners staff about your research, you’ll know why it is important to work with them to make the Opportunity Audit a success. You never know, the next good idea to be taken to the world could be yours.