Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) are the shorthand of grant applications, but how do I apply them to my tech if its non-engineering e.g. SaaS / MedTech / Pharma?
TRLs are the short hand of grants – they are used all over the scope documentation to describe what kind of projects the awarding bodies are looking to fund.
๐ช๐ต๐ – TRLs provide an instant snapshot of risk, investment needs, and timeline expectations – regardless of the underlying ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ.
When someone says “we’re at TRL 4,” you immediately understand they’ve proven their concept works in a lab but still need significant development before commercialization.
๐ฆ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ
In short the scale has 3 principal groupings:
TRL 1-3: Concept & Research Phase:
Early stage idea -> proven concept
TRL 4-6: Development & Validation:
Prototype development -> Proven in a relevant environment
TRL 7-9: Deployment & Commercial Readiness:
Late stage development -> Final product in operational environment.
๐๐๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ณ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ?
Neither of these fields neatly fit on the above framework, so some creative wiggling needs to be undertaken.
๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
For medical devices or pharma – it’s best to think in terms of clinical trials:
TRL 1-3: Target identification, in vitro testing, pre-clinical research
TRL 4-5: Component validation, pre-clinical trials
TRL 6: First human trials (Phase I) or safety demonstrations for devices
TRL 7: Phase II clinical trials or operational prototype testing
TRL 8: Phase III clinical trials or system qualification
TRL 9: Market-approved product ready for commercialization
๐ฆ๐ผ๐ณ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ/๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
For SaaS its better to translate the Alpha/Beta framework
TRL 1-3: Concept research through early prototype development
TRL 4: Alpha testing with integrated components
TRL 5: System validation in realistic environment
TRL 6: Beta version ready for user testing
TRL 7: Final prototype testing in operational setting
TRL 8: Pre-commercial demonstration with real users
TRL 9: Commercial product deployment with full functionality
Using these scales – it will allow you to understand where you are on the traditional development framework – and most importantly which grants are the best fit for your development right now.