John Kramers

Full name
Dr. John W. Kramers
Degrees
PhD., P.Geol
Practice Areas:
Science & Technology/ R&D project selection, Grants & Contributions, Technology Based Economic Development (TBED) and Technology Commercialization
Bio

Dr. Kramers is a senior ProGrid consultant and is Vice President Western Canada for ProGrid Evaluation Solutions. He has worked with the company since 1998, providing consulting services and overseeing the development of the company’s desktop and server edition software products for complex evaluation.

Dr. Kramers spent most of his career as a Geological Research Officer at the Alberta Research Council investigating oil sands in Alberta and in many foreign countries. In 1994 he joined ARC’s Joint Research Ventures Program where he became JRV Manager in 1995. In 1996 he became Manager for Corporate Projects and undertook several new administrative initiatives, including defining a new IP management system for ARC and defining ARC’s intellectual capital. He has extensive experience in project management and managing multidisciplinary teams, both in Canada and overseas.

Latest Blog Posts:

Reviewers and “Experts”

At a recent industry presentation, I was asked, “does everyone who reviews a proposal have to be an 'expert' in the area?”  This is not an uncommon question as the use of “experts” and “non-experts” in peer-review is increasing as organizations embrace their stakeholders more broadly.

A well designed evaluation process and criteria should enable a “reasonable” person (not necessarily an expert) to read what the proponent writes and make an assessment.  Experts are valuable in giving opinions either via comments in their assessments or during committee discussion.