The TRL Scale in Public Sector Innovation
This paper examines how the Technology Readiness Level scale (TRL) became an innovation policy tool for the European Union (EU) through several mutations. It also summarizes the opportunities and risks that were created. This paper compares two policies related to innovation that share the same concept. This document-centric study uses position papers, whitepapers, government documents, policy documents, and descriptions of research programs. This paper shows that the TRL scale's concreteness and sophistication decreased as it was used in a broader context (space programs). The scale must be tailored to each discipline before it can be applied. This has not been done for many domains; EU-specific customizations and handbooks have not been used in other areas. Uncritical use of the scales in the EU framework program appears to have more risks than benefits. TRLs, in the absence of specific guides for each discipline, will undoubtedly become a source of confusion and a target of abuse when trying to get EU funding.
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