Technology transfer
Encyclopedia
Technology Transfer, also called Transfer of Technology (TOT) and Technology Commercialisation, is the process of skill transferring, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and facilities among government
s or universities
and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the technology into new products, processes, applications, materials or services. It is closely related to (and may arguably be considered a subset of) knowledge transfer
.
Some also consider technology transfer as a process of moving promising research topics into a level of maturity
ready for bulk manufacturing or production.
Technology brokers
are people who discovered how to bridge the disparate worlds and apply scientific concepts or processes to new situations or circumstances. A related term, used almost synonymously, is "technology valorisation
". While conceptually the practice has been utilized for many years (in ancient times, Archimedes
was notable for applying science to practical problems), the present-day volume of research, combined with high-profile failures at Xerox PARC
and elsewhere, has led to a focus on the process itself.
s are normally only issued for practical processes, and so someone—not necessarily the researchers—must come up with a specific practical process. Another consideration is commercial value; for example, while there are many ways to accomplish nuclear fusion
, the ones of commercial value are those that generate more energy than they require to operate.
The process to commercially exploit research varies widely. It can involve licensing agreements or setting up joint ventures and partnerships to share both the risks and rewards of bringing new technologies to market. Other corporate vehicles, e.g. spin-outs, are used where the host organization does not have the necessary will, resources or skills to develop a new technology. Often these approaches are associated with raising of venture capital
(VC) as a means of funding the development process, a practice more common in the US
than in the EU, which has a more conservative approach to VC funding. Spinoffs
are a popular vehicle of commercialisation in Canada
, where the rate of licensing of Canadian university research remains far below that of the US.
Technology transfer offices may work on behalf of research institutions, governments and even large multinationals. Where start-ups and spin-outs are the clients, commercial fees are sometimes waived in lieu of an equity stake in the business. As a result of the potential complexity of the technology transfer process, technology transfer organizations are often multidisciplinary, including economists, engineers, lawyers, marketers and scientists. The dynamics of the technology transfer process has attracted attention in its own right, and there are several dedicated societies and journals.
There has been a marked increase in technology transfer intermediaries specialized in their field since 1980, stimulated in large part by the Bayh-Dole Act
and equivalent legislation in other countries, which provided additional incentives for research exploitation.
s as a criterion (for example), Research tends to focus on TRL 1-3, while readiness for production tends to focus on TRL 6-7 or higher. Bridging TRL-3 to TRL-6 has proven to be difficult in some organizations. Attempting to rush research (prototypes) into production (fully tested under diverse conditions, reliable, maintainable. etc.) tends to be more costly and time-consuming than expected.
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
s or universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the technology into new products, processes, applications, materials or services. It is closely related to (and may arguably be considered a subset of) knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer in the fields of organizational development and organizational learning is the practical problem of transferring knowledge from one part of the organization to another part of the organization. Like Knowledge Management, Knowledge transfer seeks to organize, create, capture or...
.
Some also consider technology transfer as a process of moving promising research topics into a level of maturity
Technology Readiness Level
Technology Readiness Level is a measure used by some United States government agencies and many of the world's major companies to assess the maturity of evolving technologies prior to incorporating that technology into a system or subsystem...
ready for bulk manufacturing or production.
Technology brokers
Technology brokering
The idea of Technology brokering is to span multiple, otherwise disconnected industries, to see how existing technologies could be used to create breakthrough innovations in other markets. Technology brokering requires companies to be strong in two areas...
are people who discovered how to bridge the disparate worlds and apply scientific concepts or processes to new situations or circumstances. A related term, used almost synonymously, is "technology valorisation
Valorisation
The valorisation or valorization of capital is a theoretical concept created by Karl Marx in his critique of political economy. The German original term is "Verwertung" but this is difficult to translate, and often wrongly rendered as "realisation of capital", "creation of surplus-value" or...
". While conceptually the practice has been utilized for many years (in ancient times, Archimedes
Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics, statics and an...
was notable for applying science to practical problems), the present-day volume of research, combined with high-profile failures at Xerox PARC
Xerox PARC
PARC , formerly Xerox PARC, is a research and co-development company in Palo Alto, California, with a distinguished reputation for its contributions to information technology and hardware systems....
and elsewhere, has led to a focus on the process itself.
Transfer process
Many companies, universities and governmental organizations now have an "Office of Technology Transfer", TTO (also known as "Tech Transfer" or "TechXfer") dedicated to identifying research which has potential commercial interest and strategies for how to exploit it. For instance, a research result may be of scientific and commercial interest, but patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s are normally only issued for practical processes, and so someone—not necessarily the researchers—must come up with a specific practical process. Another consideration is commercial value; for example, while there are many ways to accomplish nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
, the ones of commercial value are those that generate more energy than they require to operate.
The process to commercially exploit research varies widely. It can involve licensing agreements or setting up joint ventures and partnerships to share both the risks and rewards of bringing new technologies to market. Other corporate vehicles, e.g. spin-outs, are used where the host organization does not have the necessary will, resources or skills to develop a new technology. Often these approaches are associated with raising of venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
(VC) as a means of funding the development process, a practice more common in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
than in the EU, which has a more conservative approach to VC funding. Spinoffs
Research spin-off
A research spin-off is a company that falls into at least one of the four following categories:#Companies that have an equity investment from a national library or university#Companies that license technology from a public research institute or university...
are a popular vehicle of commercialisation in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where the rate of licensing of Canadian university research remains far below that of the US.
Technology transfer offices may work on behalf of research institutions, governments and even large multinationals. Where start-ups and spin-outs are the clients, commercial fees are sometimes waived in lieu of an equity stake in the business. As a result of the potential complexity of the technology transfer process, technology transfer organizations are often multidisciplinary, including economists, engineers, lawyers, marketers and scientists. The dynamics of the technology transfer process has attracted attention in its own right, and there are several dedicated societies and journals.
There has been a marked increase in technology transfer intermediaries specialized in their field since 1980, stimulated in large part by the Bayh-Dole Act
Bayh-Dole Act
The Bayh–Dole Act or Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act is United States legislation dealing with intellectual property arising from federal government-funded research. Adopted in 1980, Bayh-Dole is codified in -212, and implemented by 37 C.F.R. 401. Among other things, it gave U.S...
and equivalent legislation in other countries, which provided additional incentives for research exploitation.
Drawbacks
Despite incentives to move research into production, the practical aspects are sometimes difficult to perform in practice. Using DoD Technology Readiness LevelTechnology Readiness Level
Technology Readiness Level is a measure used by some United States government agencies and many of the world's major companies to assess the maturity of evolving technologies prior to incorporating that technology into a system or subsystem...
s as a criterion (for example), Research tends to focus on TRL 1-3, while readiness for production tends to focus on TRL 6-7 or higher. Bridging TRL-3 to TRL-6 has proven to be difficult in some organizations. Attempting to rush research (prototypes) into production (fully tested under diverse conditions, reliable, maintainable. etc.) tends to be more costly and time-consuming than expected.
See also
- Angel investorAngel investorAn angel investor or angel is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity...
- Association of University Technology ManagersAssociation of University Technology ManagersThe Association of University Technology Managers is an organization devoted to promoting technology transfer between universities and colleges and private enterprise and/or the government. Membership consists primarily of technology transfer professionals that work for universities. The...
- Bayh-Dole ActBayh-Dole ActThe Bayh–Dole Act or Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act is United States legislation dealing with intellectual property arising from federal government-funded research. Adopted in 1980, Bayh-Dole is codified in -212, and implemented by 37 C.F.R. 401. Among other things, it gave U.S...
- Business incubatorBusiness incubatorBusiness incubators are programs designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts...
- CommercializationCommercializationCommercialization is the process or cycle of introducing a new product or production method into the market. The actual launch of a new product is the final stage of new product development, and the one where the most money will have to be spent for advertising, sales promotion, and other marketing...
- Diffusion of innovationsDiffusion of innovationsDiffusion of Innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures. Everett Rogers, a professor of rural sociology, popularized the theory in his 1962 book Diffusion of Innovations...
- Discovery (observation)Discovery (observation)Discovery is the act of detecting something new, or something "old" that had been unknown. With reference to science and academic disciplines, discovery is the observation of new phenomena, new actions, or new events and providing new reasoning to explain the knowledge gathered through such...
- InnovationInnovationInnovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
- Intellectual propertyIntellectual propertyIntellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
- InventionInventionAn invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
- Licensing Executives Society InternationalLicensing Executives Society InternationalThe Licensing Executives Society International, or LES International, is a not for profit, non-political, umbrella organisation having 32 national and regional member societies, interested in technology transfers or licensing of intellectual property rights. It was founded in 1965 in the United...
- Open InnovationOpen InnovationAlthough the idea and discussion about some consequences date back at least to the 60s, open innovation is a term promoted by Henry Chesbrough, a professor and executive director at the Center for Open Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley, in his book Open Innovation: The new...
- PatentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
- Prior artPrior artPrior art , in most systems of patent law, constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality...
- Seed moneySeed moneySeed money, sometimes known as seed funding, friends and family funding or angel funding , is a securities offering whereby one or more parties that have some connection to a new enterprise invest the funds necessary to start the business so that it has enough funds to sustain itself for a period...
- Startup companyStartup companyA startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
- Technology assessmentTechnology assessmentTechnology assessment Technology assessment Technology assessment (TA, German Tenteractive, and communicative process that aims to contribute to the formation of public and political opinion on societal aspects of science and technology.- General description :...
- Technology readiness levelTechnology Readiness LevelTechnology Readiness Level is a measure used by some United States government agencies and many of the world's major companies to assess the maturity of evolving technologies prior to incorporating that technology into a system or subsystem...
- Value chainValue chainThe value chain, is a concept from business management that was first described and popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance.-Firm Level:...
- Venture capitalVenture capitalVenture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
External links
- Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies
- Special Report：Methodological and Technological issues in Technology Transfer (IPCCIPCCIPCC may refer to:*Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of the United Nations*Independent Police Complaints Commission, of England and Wales*Irish Peatland Conservation Council...
) - The Journal of Technology Transfer