Technology Transfer and Innovation: Reexamining and Broadening the Perspective of the Transfer of Discoveries Resulting From Government-Sponsored Research

The Bayh–Dole Act transferred to universities and government laboratories the responsibility for operationalizing the vision of Vannevar Bush's doctrine Science, the Endless Frontier (1945). Twenty-four years later, these organizations seemingly continue to struggle with incorporating this federally mandated function of "technology transfer" as an integral component of their operations. This paper examines the decision process involved in formulating and assessing an institution's technology transfer function. Several important conclusions follow from this analysis. The first is that technology transfer is a subset of the knowledge dissemination mission of research institutions, and is therefore an important part of their core mission. Another conclusion is that there are different types of new knowledge generated at research institutions that require different dissemination strategies. The five most important functions of an institutional technology transfer office are identified, three of which fall within the auspices of intellectual asset management. Finally, for institutions to maximize the public benefit of their research, they must optimize their technology transfer process. To accomplish this, each institution must embrace a clear and specific objective for their technology transfer function, and then implement technology transfer operating tactics consistent with the chosen objective.