While the promotion of humanities and social sciences (HSS) is still in the process of being structured, it is now making significant progress within French public research and covers many facets, both in terms of formalizing research results and in terms of forms of protection and economic transfer. There are a growing number of examples of flagship projects supported by SATTs, demonstrating their ability to drive, support, and accelerate the development of major innovations for society and the common good.
The social sciences and humanities: a field with significant societal impact
A broad set of scientific disciplines, the humanities and social sciences (HSS) occupy a prominent place at the heart of French public research, particularly within universities, with nearly30% of all research laboratories in France devoted to this fieldand45% of university research staff. Although culturally, HSS researchers are not familiar with promoting their work and transfer practices, this is nevertheless a well-established reality withspecific characteristics and particularly diverse avenues.
Innovations in the humanities and social sciences target a wider audience than the industrial world and often encompass the public sphere, the voluntary sector, and the social and solidarity economy. The production of assets and the formalization of research results take various forms—software or database development, content or media creation, value-added services—which require atailor-made approach to projects. While some innovations can rely on well-known intellectual property and transfer tools, others requireadapted methods of protection and economic exploitation, such as copyright or research collaborations with socio-economic actors.
Support from SATTs (Technology Transfer Acceleration Companies) on these issues is therefore essential and often begins with an awareness-raising phase among research teams, aimed at making them aware of the potential, particularly economic, of their research and demonstrating the benefits of technology transfer for theseinnovations, whose social, societal, and environmental impact is decisive.
The SATT Network, accelerating innovation in the social sciences and humanities
SATTs are involved in a wide range of activities, including identifying potential for innovation and transfer, seeking the best means of commercialization, conducting market research, maturing projects, filing intellectual property rights, and seeking socio-economic and socio-cultural partners. In the field of humanities and social sciences, no fewer than185 projects have been supported throughout France since 2012, and more than 40 startups have been created. These projects cover a wide range of areas of expertise, from psychology and cognitive sciences, with the development of psychometric assessment tools for dyslexia, for example, to developmental and attention disorders in children and autism, corporate training, and the cultural and creative industries, with projects focusing on heritage, history, and archaeology.
Examples include the board game [kosmopoliːt] , developed by PULSALYS, which offers a surprising and immersive cooperative experience in contact with linguistic diversity, and the DERI solution from Toulouse Tech Transfer, which enables the creation of interactive visuals adapted to visual impairments, the audiovisual programVIENS ON DANSEfromSATT Lutech, produced by Arte, which presents the origins of urban dance in the United States, and the startupMobi.deep, supported by Ouest Valorisation, which develops immersive devices to support changes in mobility behavior. For its part, the startup JokaJobs, which has been supported by SATT Paris-Saclay for ten years, is developing a mobile job search application in the form of a "serious game" that encourages players to develop their mobility in the region and create a network in order to access new professional opportunities.
Working closely with laboratories and researchers
The primary objective for SATTs is to transform the way research results are viewed in a number of disciplines. This is primarily amission of dialogue and scientific awareness-raising, which ensures that projects with commercialization potential are identified. This involves working closely with researchers to develop their work beyond the academic sphere. An excellent way to achieve this is to lead by example, with successful transfers or start-up creations. Another approach that has been developed is based on innovation through usage and design, which is particularly well suited to socio-cultural innovation. For example, SATT Lutech works closely with ENSCI (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle) as part of CMA Design (Compétences et métiers d'avenir).
Next, the potential of the projects must be assessed,the best way to promote them must be considered, and all possible means must be implemented within the SATTsand institutions to ensure that the support provided is as appropriate as possible: Intellectual Property Committee, positioning study, preparation of a maturation file if the project requires a specific budget, monitoring of the maturation project, filing of intellectual property rights, and search for socio-economic and socio-cultural partners with a view to transferring the innovation, particularly in the form of an operating license.
The example of LISEC and SATT Conectus
Supported by SATT Conectus, the Eduscript Doctor project offers an educational scripting kit for course development. While it was originally aimed at improving the design of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) through the integration of microlearning, this project, conceived at the Interuniversity Laboratory of Education and Communication Sciences (LISEC) at the University of Haute-Alsace, quickly took on a broader dimension by offering a new course scripting methodology targeting all types of training and accessible to all trainers. Today, following a scientific publication in the prestigious American journal Education and Information Technologies and theprototyping of the kit as part of a maturation programtested at numerous universities and training centers in France, the team of researchers is in discussions with a publisher, again with the support of SATT.
Within the same laboratory, Céline Clément, a lecturer and researcher in psychology and educational sciences, is developing intervention programs for parents whose children have neurodevelopmental disorders (autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, language disorders).With the support of SATT Conectus, several programs have been developedor are currently being developed, including " The ABCs of Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Parents in Action! " and " AAASPI – Supporting My Teenager with Autism in Their Specific Needs and Towards Independence ." SATT provides support in various ways for the production of manuals and training courses for healthcare professionals, ranging from specific expertise in rights protection and the signing of agreements to the complete development and promotion of programs.
All SATTs are thus carrying out fundamental work in taking into account the humanities and social sciences community, questioning practices and combining transfer objectives with the spirit and values that underpin economic and social progress. The aim is to develop solutions whose societal and socio-cultural impact contributes to national acceleration strategies (SNA), such as education and digital technology or the French cultural and creative industries (ICC), as well as to the objectives set by the State in the France 2030 framework.