Nature Research Group 2017 survey on researchers perspectives on academic spin-off
companies
1. Methodology
In February 2017, a link to an online survey was posted out via a website intercept (image below)
targeting 10% of visitors across the nature.com journal homepages and article pages. The survey
asked researchers about their views and experiences with businesses that develop off the back of
research conducted within academia; and their general view on entrepreneurship. To incentivise
participation, at the end of the survey respondents were given the opportunity to enter into a prize
draw to win an Amazon voucher worth £250. By early March, 418,196 had been shown the website
intercept, of which 1,443 complete responses had been received (a response rate of 0.35%). Cleaned,
anonymized raw data are available at go.nature.com/2r0dzgr
Website intercept:
2. Survey questions
Introduction
Welcome to Springer Nature's Start-up Survey. We would like to understand researchers' views and
experiences with businesses that develop off of the back of research conducted in the academic sphere
and their general view on entrepreneurship.
The questionnaire should take no longer than 10 minutes. To thank you for your time, at the end of the
survey you will have the chance to enter a prize draw for a £250 Amazon voucher. The closing date
for the prize draw will be Monday 6th March 2017 (Click here for terms and conditions).
As members of the Market Research Society (MRS), Springer Nature ensures the highest standards of
professional research and privacy in using the information that our audience provides, abiding by the
MRS Code of Conduct. Answers will never be associated with individual participants; the results
from individual respondents will only be analysed in aggregate.
Q26
In which type of organisation do you currently work?
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University (1)
Non-university educational institution (2)
Government agency (3)
Government research laboratory (4)
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Company (5)
Not-for-profit organization (6)
Medical practice (7)
Self-employed (8)
Other (please specify) (9) ____________________
Q2
Which of the following job titles best applies to you?
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Research Director/VP of Research (1)
Professor (2)
Laboratory Director/Head (3)
Medical Professional/Doctor (4)
Associate Professor/Lecturer (5)
Research Scientist (6)
Post-doctoral Fellow (7)
Ph.D. Student (8)
Technician/Research Assistant (9)
Masters Student (10)
Undergraduate Student (11)
Other (please specify) (12) ____________________
Q3
Which of the following best describes your fields of research?
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Astronomy (1)
Biomedical and life sciences (2)
Chemistry (3)
Computer and information sciences (4)
Earth and environmental science (5)
Energy (6)
Engineering (7)
Social sciences (8)
Materials science (9)
Mathematics and statistics (10)
Medicine (11)
Physics (12)
Other (please specify) (13) ____________________
Q4
Which of the below entrepreneurial activities have you ever undertaken using research you
have conducted whilst at a University? (Please select all that apply)
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Applied for a patent (1)
Licensed a patent to an existing company (2)
Formed or run a consultancy (3)
Started a spin-off company (4)
 None of the above (5)
Q5
Has starting a spin-off company ever resulted in you leaving academia?
 Yes (1)
 No (2)
Q6
What were your key motivations for leaving academia to pursue this spin-off company? (Please
select all that apply)
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Develop practical applications for my research (1)
To find a better work-life balance (2)
Chance to make more money (3)
Different challenge (4)
Be your own boss (5)
Opportunity for career advancement (6)
Other (please specify) (8) ____________________
Q7
What positive outcomes have resulted from your leaving academia to start a company? (Please
select all that apply)
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New insights into my research (1)
Better pay (3)
More intellectual stimulation (4)
Greater network/More contacts (5)
Better work-life balance (7)
More collegial workplace (10)
Other (please specify) (8) ____________________
No positive impacts seen (9)
Q8
Does your research have the potential for commercial application?
 Yes (1)
 No (2)
 I don't know (3)
Q9
Would you consider, or have you any intention, of starting a spin-off company using your
research which may require you to leave academia?
 Yes (1)
 No (2)
 I don't know (3)
Q10
What do you believe are the key motivators that people have for leaving academia to start their
own spin-off business? (Please select up to 3)
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Develop practical applications for my research (1)
To find a better work-life balance (2)
Chance to make more money (3)
Different challenge (4)
Be your own boss (5)
Opportunity for career advancement (6)
Other (please specify) (8) ____________________
Q11
What do you believe are the main barriers that discourage scientists from leaving academia to
start a spin-off business? (Please select up to 3)
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Insufficient resources (2)
Lack of business skills (3)
Not intellectually stimulating (4)
Lack of commercial relevance of research (5)
Financial risk and insecurity (6)
Lack of awareness of opportunity (7)
Insufficient support from university technology transfer or patent licensing office (1)
Other (please specify) (8) ____________________
Q12
Please rank the following areas of science in order of which you see as most conducive to
entrepreneurship. (Note: 1 = most conducive; 6 = least conducive)
______ Biomedical and life sciences (1)
______ Earth and environmental sciences (2)
______ Engineering (3)
______ Computer and information sciences (4)
______ Medicine (5)
______ Physical sciences (6)
Q13
Thank you for your answers so far, we'd now like to ask some quick questions about you.
Which continent do you live in?
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Asia (including Middle East) (1)
Australasia (2)
Africa (3)
Europe (4)
North America (including Central America and the Caribbean) (5)
South America (6)
Q16
Which country in Asia (including Middle East)?
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Afghanistan (1)
Armenia (2)
Azerbaijan (3)
Bahrain (4)
Bangladesh (5)
Bhutan (6)
Brunei (7)
Burma (8)
Cambodia (9)
China (10)
Georgia (11)
Hong Kong (12)
India (13)
Indonesia (14)
Iran (15)
Iraq (16)
Israel (17)
Japan (18)
Jordan (19)
Kazakhstan (20)
North Korea (21)
South Korea (22)
Kuwait (23)
Kyrgyzstan (24)
Laos (25)
Lebanon (26)
Malaysia (27)
Maldives (28)
Mongolia (29)
Nepal (30)
Oman (31)
Pakistan (32)
Philippines (33)
Qatar (34)
Russia (35)
Saudi Arabia (36)
Singapore (37)
Sri Lanka (38)
Syria (39)
Taiwan (40)
Tajikistan (41)
Thailand (42)
Turkey (43)
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Turkmenistan (44)
United Arab Emirates (45)
Uzbekistan (46)
Vietnam (47)
Yemen (48)
Q18
Which country in Australasia?
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Australia (1)
French Polynesia (2)
Niue (3)
Tonga (4)
Christmas Island (5)
Kiribati (6)
Papua New Guinea (7)
Tuvalu (8)
Cocos Keeling Island (9)
Nauru (10)
Pitcairn Island (11)
Vanuatu (12)
Cook Island (13)
New Caledonia (14)
Solomon Island (15)
Wallis Futuna (16)
Fiji (17)
New Zealand (18)
Tokelau (19)
Western Samoa (20)
Q20
Which country in Africa?
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Algeria (1)
Angola (2)
Benin (3)
Botswana (4)
Burkina Faso (5)
Burundi (6)
Cameroon (7)
Cape Verde (8)
Central African Republic (9)
Chad (10)
Comoros (11)
Congo, Republic of (12)
Congo, Democratic Republic of (13)
Cote d'Ivoire (14)
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Djibouti (15)
Egypt (16)
Equatorial Guinea (17)
Eritrea (18)
Ethiopia (19)
Gabon (20)
The Gambia (21)
Ghana (22)
Guinea (23)
Guinea-Bissau (24)
Kenya (25)
Lesotho (26)
Liberia (27)
Libya (28)
Madagascar (29)
Malawi (30)
Mali (31)
Mauritania (32)
Mauritius (33)
Morocco (34)
Mozambique (35)
Namibia (36)
Niger (37)
Nigeria (38)
Rwanda (39)
Sao Tome and Principe (40)
Senegal (41)
Seychelles (42)
Sierra Leone (43)
Somalia (44)
South Africa (45)
South Sudan (46)
Sudan (47)
Swaziland (48)
Tanzania (49)
Togo (50)
Tunisia (51)
Uganda (52)
Zambia (53)
Zimbabwe (54)
Q22
Which country in South America?
 Argentina (1)
 Bolivia (2)
 Brazil (3)
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Chile (4)
Colombia (5)
Ecuador (6)
Falkland Islands (7)
French Guiana (8)
Guyana (9)
Paraguay (10)
Peru (11)
Suriname (12)
Uruguay (13)
Venezuela (14)
Q24
Which country in North America (including Central America and the Caribbean)?
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Anguilla (1)
Antigua and Barbuda (2)
Aruba (3)
Bahamas (4)
Barbados (5)
Belize (6)
Bermuda (7)
British Virgin Islands (8)
Canada (9)
Cayman Islands (10)
Clipperton Island (11)
Costa Rica (12)
Cuba (13)
Dominica (14)
Dominican Republic (15)
El Salvador (16)
Greenland (17)
Grenada (18)
Guadeloupe (19)
Guatemala (20)
Haiti (21)
Honduras (22)
Jamaica (23)
Martinique (24)
Mexico (25)
Montserrat (26)
Navassa Island (27)
Netherlands Antilles (28)
Nicaragua (29)
Panama (30)
Saint Barthelemy (31)
Saint Kitts and Nevis (32)
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Saint Lucia (33)
Saint Martin (34)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (35)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (36)
Trinidad and Tobago (37)
Turks and Caicos Islands (38)
United States (39)
United States Virgin Islands (40)
Q26
Which country in Europe?
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Albania (1)
Andorra (2)
Austria (3)
Belarus (4)
Belgium (5)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (6)
Bulgaria (7)
Croatia (8)
Cyprus (9)
Czech Republic (10)
Denmark (11)
Estonia (12)
Finland (13)
France (14)
Germany (15)
Greece (16)
Hungary (17)
Iceland (18)
Ireland (19)
Italy (20)
Latvia (21)
Liechtenstein (22)
Lithuania (23)
Luxembourg (24)
Macedonia (25)
Malta (26)
Moldova (27)
Monaco (28)
Montenegro (29)
Netherlands (30)
Norway (31)
Poland (32)
Portugal (33)
Romania (34)
Russia (35)
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San Marino (36)
Serbia (37)
Slovakia (38)
Slovenia (39)
Spain (40)
Sweden (41)
Switzerland (42)
Turkey (43)
Ukraine (44)
United Kingdom (45)
Vatican City (46)
Q27
What is your age?
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Under 18 (1)
18 - 24 (2)
25 - 34 (3)
35 - 44 (4)
45 - 54 (5)
55 - 64 (6)
65 or over (7)
Prefer not to say (8)
Q28
What is your sex?
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Male (1)
Female (2)
Transgender (3)
Prefer not to say (4)
Q29
And finally...
 Springer Nature may want to contact you again to ask for more information on the subject
discussed in this survey, or to ask you specific questions about your comments and answers. If
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 To enter the prize draw to win a £250 Amazon voucher, please click here and enter your details
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Q30
Please complete the details below: