Reinventing innovation intermediation: The translational education ecosystem model and the role of COIs–COEs in mission-aligned technology diffusion

This study examines how applied education institutions operate as innovation intermediaries within coordinated national systems, extending intermediation theory beyond its university-centric foundations. Drawing on documentary evidence, ten semi-structured interviews, and archival data across Singapore’s six TVET institutions, the paper identifies four reinforcing mechanisms—dual-anchor orchestration, boundary-spanning knowledge flows, education-embedded R&D, and mission-oriented governance—that accelerate technology translation and strengthen SME absorptive capacity. We conceptualize these mechanisms as a Translational Education Ecosystem (TEE), a meso-level architecture bridging mid-TRL development with workforce and organisational readiness. The TEE model advances innovation-systems scholarship by specifying, at the mechanism level, how applied R&D, capability formation, and mission execution co-evolve through education-integrated intermediaries—a level of specification not offered by adjacent triple/quadruple-helix, absorptive-capacity, or mission-oriented innovation frameworks. The findings offer a transferable, though context-bound, framework for countries seeking to enhance technology diffusion, address last-mile adoption failures, and mobilize non-university actors in mission-oriented innovation; limitations relating to sample scope and the single-country context are discussed.