Corporate scientific management and the path to commercialization of the disk permeameter

We describe here the steps taken to commercialize the disk permeameter. Commercialization took place against a background of rapidly changing organizational culture within a government strategic research organization, CSIRO, and reflected the widespread adoption of the corporate management strategy for science throughout the English-speaking world. These changes transformed a prototype instrument distributed gratis into a commercially manufactured version sold worldwide. The rapid shifts in science management impacted directly on the commercialization procedure adopted. We describe the search for and selection of a commercial partner, the development of prototypes, and the preparation of advertising material and instruction manuals. The technical back-up and support required are discussed and the financial returns are mentioned. We make some judgements on the scientific costs and benefits of the whole process. The dilemmas for the management of commercialization in a primarily publicly funded strategic research organization are discussed. It is hoped that this account offers insights applicable beyond the parochial Australian context of the disk permeameter.