Bench to Community Seminar - Series 2, Session 5: Using Consulting Agencies During Development

Translating an innovation from the research stage into early-stage development for commercialization can be facilitated by using targeted consultant agencies for their area-specific expertise. Attendees will learn about common practices in evaluating and engaging/hiring consultants. Our guest speaker, Bruce Ferris, will illustrate with comments on using an engineering design consultancy in the translation of a lab design or early prototype into a mass-producible entity.   

Topics:

• Defining work needed in a project brief, anticipated project stages and review

• Resourcing/finding the right consultant for the right job; Competency, Capacity, Commitment, Cost, Culture, Communication

• Defining the project/consulting contract

• Services on follow-through and implementation the consultant can provide to your business

• Example: using an engineering design consultancy for prototype development, evaluation and design for manufacturing volumes