Running a successful secondment scheme

This guide explains how temporary placement of academic, industrial, clinical and other collaborators on a shorter-term basis, with a small amount of budget, can lead
to significant innovation and knowledge exchange outcomes.

Interactive secondment scheme guide

View our animated secondment scheme guide on your device:

Big innovation, small budget: Running a successful secondment scheme animation (opens interactive guide in a new tab or window)

Downloadable secondment scheme guide

Download and print the PDF of our secondment scheme guide.

A note to knowledge exchange and technology transfer professionals

As a Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation (KEC) practitioner, you translate research outcomes into products and services that have an economic and social impact, often with tight budget constraints. You know that this isn’t always straightforward.

Gaining fresh perspectives and new approaches for research is at the heart of successful innovation.

The second part of this guide is a case study of our successful secondment scheme.

Since the secondment scheme launch in 2016, Translate has funded 45 secondments with destinations to academia, industry and healthcare settings.

Four steps to big innovation on a small budget

Prepare, publicise, support and evaluate to innovate:

Prepare:
Set out your aims
Identify your participants
Allocate your budget

Publicise:
Prepare the information
Choose your audience friendly channels
Channel your success

Support:
Give prompt feedback
Broker relationships
Target opportunities
Provide post-secondment support

Evaluate:
Through feedback from participants and hosts

Secondment scheme toolkit for KEC practitioners

Download and adapt our secondment scheme toolkit, which includes:

  • Guidance for applicants
  • Outgoing secondment application form
  • Incoming secondment application form
  • Blog template

Download the secondment scheme toolkit (opens a Word doc)

Download and print the PDF of our secondment scheme guide (opens a PDF doc)