Filling the toolkit

If I had a toolbox (and let’s face it- I wouldn’t), it wouldn’t be full of tools.

I’d probably use it to store stationary, or those odds and ends I refuse to throw away just in case I find a use for them tomorrow. Things like those infuriatingly-nondescript pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that seem to proliferate under the sofa cushions, random coins of unknown origin and/or value, crunchy old rubber bands and paperclip necklaces.

My toolbox would be relatively tool-empty because I’ve realised there are very few tools that can’t somehow be fashioned from common household items. Bread knives become saws (and cutlery knives, screwdrivers); hardback books double up as hammers and eyebrow tweezers replace the need for pliers. Less safe? Definitely. Money-saving gone mad? Perhaps. But in my danger-hungry, money-saving mind- as tools, they are suitably fit-for-purpose and almost as good as the real thing.

This principle cannot, however, be applied to toolkits in KTP speak. A KTP project, by definition, must deliver some change to the business- whether this involves developing a new product for an existing market, or as in the case of my KTP- exposing an existing ‘product’ (RHS Science) to a wider market (the scientific community and non-members). The outlined changes will start to be delivered during the lifetime of the project; however, to help achieve long(er)-term benefits, a KTP toolkit is often created as the project nears the end of its lifetime.

The content of a KTP toolkit is likely to vary with the project but its purpose is to provide a single location where all the KTP project-relevant tools that may be needed by the company partner can be accessed. Our toolkit for example, will contain a series of support materials on topics that have been a key part of this KTP – things like best practice guides to research project management and full economic costing, finding funding and writing research proposals.

As we head towards the winter months and my Plants for Bugs workload becomes less hectic, I have a bit more time to develop the KTP toolkit. Unlike my physical toolbox, however, it won’t be cluttered with curios from the stationary cupboard and will contain only the best tools for the job!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *