The innovation and business relations department (DIRE)

CNRS’s innovation and business relations department (DIRE) oversees technology transfer for the enhancement of CNRS research.

DIRE’s mission

The innovation and business relations department (DIRE) implements CNRS's strategy to promote research and technology transfer.

It works closely with CNRS regional offices and Institutes, and is at the heart of partnerships between CNRS research units and businesses. DIRE is also responsible for tracking patents, managing licenses, and helping create innovative start-ups sparked by CNRS laboratories.

In line with CNRS's innovation strategy, the Department develops and maintains collaborations established through framework agreements with large industrial groups.

DIRE is keen to set up partnerships with innovative, small to medium-size companies and give them access to the know-how and technologies of CNRS laboratories through collaborative research projects.

In order to fully participate in the national innovation ecosystems, DIRE also plays a leading role in competitiveness clusters, technology transfer companies (SATT), theme-based technology transfer consortiums (CVT), technological research institutes (IRT) and the Carnot institutes (IC), in particular.

Part of the Department’s mission is to identify emerging social and economic trends. Analyzing these trends enables it to select the most relevant research results to be promoted through transfers to the social and economic sectors.

Key figures

• 4,477 patent families
• 891 operating licenses
• 132 joint industrial ownership agreements
• 611 joint institutional ownership agreements
• Around 60 start-ups created each year
• About 30 framework agreements
• 309 CNRS units involved in 62 competitiveness clusters
• 117 laboratories involved in 24 Carnot institutes
• Catalog of 150 training courses and approximately 40 customized courses organized each year

Contacts

For information about licensing, please contact our office at valo.dpi@cnrs-dir.fr