Evaluation of an online survey used to assess the effectiveness of technical transfer workshops on acceptance of new analytical methods

The Australian water industry is an active participant in research that aims to improve water quality but there are often barriers to disseminating and implementing research findings and results. This project referred to technical research which developed methods, including in vitro cell culture, to check the safety of recycled water (WaterRA Project 2002). The original research included delivery of a series of workshops to disseminate findings. This project followed up by administering an online survey in which 29 of the workshop participants gave feedback about ongoing adoption and implementation of Project 2002 activities. They reported a perception of regulatory and industry barriers to the broad acceptance and implementation of in vitro methods. It was concluded that the combination of workshops and online survey was an effective way to evaluate the progress (or otherwise) of technology transfer.