TGB //Ecosystem Navigator
For University Research & Innovation Leaders

Your Research Is World-Class.
Is It Reaching the Market?

Start with a 5-minute localized baseline, then compare what your research office, tech transfer team, EDO, investors, and industry partners see in the same system. Ecosystem Navigator shows where research, talent, and capital connect — and turns those different perspectives into an evidence base for regional decisions.

R&D-to-market diagnosisYour institutions, mappedShared evidence base
No account required10 questions, 5 minutesHarvard-pioneered Economic Complexity

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AUTM benchmarks tell you how many licenses you signed. Session diagnostics show whether the wider system can convert research into regional value — and where each actor sees the handoff differently.

Sound Familiar?

These are the questions that keep research VPs and TTO directors up at night. The diagnostic tells you where you actually stand.

"Our disclosures are up, but spinoffs aren't."

The diagnostic traces where the handoff breaks — between your TTO, local capital, and industry absorptive capacity. It's usually not your TTO's fault.

"We produce great graduates. They leave."

Brain drain isn't a university problem alone — it's a signal that the local economy lacks complex knowledge systems to retain talent. The diagnostic quantifies this gap.

"Industry doesn't engage with our research."

The diagnostic evaluates knowledge transfer efficiency — are local firms even aware of what you offer? Is the TTO structured to facilitate applied collaboration, or just licensing?

"The provost wants proof of economic impact."

Annual reports count patents and licenses. This diagnostic scores your institution's role in a living system — contribution to the Virtuous Innovation Cycle that drives regional growth.

Where Your Institution Fits in the Innovation Cycle

The Virtuous Innovation Cycle (VIC) shows how ideas become economic value and reinvest back into research. Universities anchor the first two phases — the diagnostic reveals whether the rest of the system is keeping up.

Phase I — Knowledge & Talent

This is your home turf

Talent pipelines, R&D capacity, basic research output. The diagnostic rates how well your inputs feed the next stage — or sit unused.

Phase II — Innovation Dynamics

Where the handoff happens

Tech transfer, university-industry collaboration, incubators on campus. This is where research either crosses into the market or stalls.

Phase III — Market Outputs

Beyond your walls

Startups, job creation, industry adoption of your IP. You can't control this phase, but you can see whether your ecosystem supports it.

Phase IV — Reinvestment

The feedback loop

Does commercial success fund new research? Are graduates staying to build? This phase determines whether your institution gets compounding returns or a one-time export.

What You Get From the Platform

A single report clarifies your institution's role. Session diagnostics show whether the surrounding ecosystem sees the same constraints.

Localized Baseline

A scored read on how research, talent, capital, and commercialization pathways connect around your institution.

Session Diagnostics

Invite research, tech transfer, economic development, industry, and investor voices to answer the same question spine.

Evidence Base

Each run adds answers, scores, assets, recommendations, and citations to a record of how the university-region system is changing.

Decision Outputs

Executive-ready reports, PDF export, share links, stakeholder briefs, and actions framed for university leaders and partners.

Not Another Survey. Not ChatGPT.

AUTM metrics tell you what your office produced. This tells you whether the system around you is converting it into economic value.

What AUTM / annual reports tell you
  • Disclosures filed: 47
  • Licenses executed: 12
  • Startups formed: 3
  • Licensing revenue: $1.2M
What this diagnostic tells you
  • “Local firms rate awareness of your research a 2.1/5. The bottleneck isn’t your TTO — it’s that the absorptive capacity of local SMEs is low.”
  • “Phase I scores 4.2 (strong inputs) but Phase II scores 2.4 — the handoff from lab to market is where the system breaks.”
  • “Three accelerators within 30km are not connected to your research output. Consider...”

Questions from Research Leaders

I'm a VP Research, not an economic developer. Is this for me?▾
Yes. The diagnostic evaluates the entire innovation ecosystem — not just economic development. Universities anchor Phase I (inputs) and Phase II (dynamics) of the Virtuous Innovation Cycle. The report shows how effectively your institution's research and talent feed into commercialization, local industry adoption, and reinvestment. It's the system-level view that AUTM metrics can't provide.
Will the questions make sense for a university context?▾
The questions cover R&D investment, tech transfer effectiveness, university-industry collaboration, talent retention, Triple Helix partnerships, and more. Each question is localized to your region — referencing your actual institutions, accelerators, and research programs. You're rating the ecosystem your institution operates in, from your perspective.
Can I use this report in presentations to the provost or board?▾
Absolutely. The report includes a shareable link, PDF export, and structured visualizations (scorecard, VIC diagram, asset map) designed for executive presentations. The analysis is framed as a diagnostic — actionable intelligence, not abstract academic commentary.
How is this different from asking ChatGPT about our ecosystem?▾
ChatGPT gives you plausible-sounding generalities. This diagnostic uses a proprietary research framework (LINK) built on corporate strategy theory, Harvard/MIT Economic Complexity research, and insights from 50+ ecosystem leader interviews. Every question is localized to your specific region. The output is a structured, scored analysis — not a prose summary.
What does the free version include?▾
The free report includes an executive summary, Virtuous Innovation Cycle (VIC) diagnosis, innovation asset map of your region's institutions, ecosystem scorecard across strategic dimensions, and a prioritized action plan with research citations. Pro users can unlock five deep-dive modules for more granular analysis.
Can multiple people at my institution run the diagnostic?▾
Yes. Session diagnostics let multiple people answer the same question spine from their own vantage point. You can compare how the research office, TTO, entrepreneurship programs, EDO partners, and investors see the same system — useful when the real issue is alignment, not a lack of activity.

Go deeper with Pro Benchmark

The free report is your baseline. Pro Benchmark turns it into a strategy engine.

Start with the free diagnostic, then unlock the modules research leaders rely on to move from diagnosis to a defensible plan — and keep every run in one evidence base.

Get Pro Benchmark Start free first
  • 15 tailored questions for sharper, deeper signal
  • Five deep-dive strategy modules + capstone synthesis
  • Stakeholder briefs, custom-branded reports & grounded Q&A
  • A reusable evidence base that compounds with every run
  • Coordinated group sessions, peer benchmarking & portfolio views

Five Minutes. Your Ecosystem. Your Perspective.

You already know your research is strong. Find out if the system around it is keeping up.

Get your region's report — free

No account required · Results in 60 seconds · Share with your team