Gerald Udell, Director, CBRD, Southwest Missouri State University

Everybody has ideas. Most of us have had an idea for a new product only to dismiss or neglect it. Sometimes we later find that others had the same idea, but they did something with it and it is their product in the market, not ours.

Ideas are relatively easy to come by; inventions are more difficult. It takes knowledge, time, money and effort to refine an idea into a workable invention, even on paper. Turning an invention into an innovation -- a new product launched into, and accepted by, the marketplace -- takes a lot of effort, not to mention a little luck. There are formidable tasks and substantial barriers in the path of those who pursue innovation. Accomplishing these tasks and overcoming the barriers typically require much careful planning and input from others.

Independent inventors are individuals who conceive a new product, process or service, independent of an organizational framework or agency. The typical independent inventor has neither the interest nor the resources to attempt commercialization by starting a new business. Instead, most inventors hope to license their inventions to an existing enterprise and collect royalties. Innovators are inventors and others who pursue inventions beyond development to commercialization. This publication recognizes the different needs of inventors and innovators.

The importance of industrial innovation can be measured in terms of its impact on both the private and public interest. Perhaps as much as one-third to one-half of all manufacturers' profits are generated by products less than five years old. In addition, nearly half of all new jobs created in the last several decades have been the result of industrial innovation. Innovation is essential to our present standard of living; without it, we face a future of inevitable decline.

Recent studies show that, in spite of skyrocketing costs, increased risks and market complexity, independent inventors, technological entrepreneurs and small businesses still contribute somewhere between one-half to two-thirds of the major industrial innovations occurring in the United States. Other studies show that they do it much more efficiently than their corporate and institutional counterparts.

Industrial innovation may be defined as a complex series of activities, beginning with an idea and followed by a succession of interwoven steps -- research and development, financing, marketing and production. However, it does not bear fruit until a product, process or service is accepted by the marketplace.