The quality of VTT activities in international comparison gets good grades
from customers in the recent customer survey made by Taloustutkimus Oy. VTT
projects produce clear benefits to the customers: 66% of VTT’s Finnish
customers got a new or improved product, service or production method as a
result of their VTT project.30% adopted a completely new technology.Of the
foreign customers 40% rated the quality of VTT activities as excellent.
Foreign customers also appreciate customer-orientedness of VTT activities.
Both domestic and foreign customers evaluate VTT activities more positively
than in the previous survey. Finnish customers appreciate especially VTT’s
multidisciplinary competence and utilisation of different technologies as well
as our ability to anticipate the general technology development. Our customers
also feel that our research results are well presented in Finland. Our
international customers value our customer-oriented services and the quality
of our activities in international comparison. 90% of our international
customers evaluate the quality to be at least good and nearly 40% regard it
excellent in international comparison.
A general increase in
knowledge and competence level is still the strongest benefit of
VTT-co-operation to its customers. This benefit was mentioned by 91% of our
domestic customers and by 87% of our foreign customers.
Truthful,
reliable and unbiased has remained as the best describing attributes of VTT
among the Finnish customers. International customers appreciate them as well,
but additionally they mention the term co-operative and responsible.
International customers evaluate these terms with more positive attitude than
the Finnish customers.
Also communication during negotiations
as well as communications in general get better grades than previously.
However, usability of VTT web pages and offering of the full range of VTT
services need to be improved. Foreign customers seem to find VTT contact
persons easily, clearly better than our Finnish customers.
Nearly
60% of the customers had already utilised their VTT project results
commercially or in production. This is a much higher value than before. VTT’s
role in the utilisation of the results has also increased. About a fifth of
the customers felt that the utilisation wouldn’t have happened without VTT
expertise.
The Finnish customers regard the Finnish
universities as VTT’s main competitors, the international customers mention
international universities.
As for VTT’s role in the future,
the Finnish customers regard VTT’s role as a supplier and provider of research
and testing infrastructure as very import. Secondly, they mention the role as
a technology developer and facilitator of technology utilisation and as a
promoter of efficient use of energy and raw materials.
VTT
projects also create side benefits that the customers don’t consciously seek.
More than half of the customers didn’t aim at networking but still half of
these customers had registered networking as an achieved benefit of their
project.
