commercialization

As discussion of innovation ecosystems remains near the front of science, technology, and innovation policy discussions — and resources are spent providing environments for creative exchange between researchers, industry, government, and entrepreneurs — substantive and empirical research is still lagging. However, a recent study sheds new light on the mechanisms and types of interactions that may contribute to the desired outcomes of promoting innovation ecosystems. Specifically, the study evaluates the effectiveness of combining two long-running, potentially complementary programs in encouraging increased engagement among ecosystem groups and individuals.

Knowing that research universities are integral to the innovation in this country, states continue their efforts to build the economy by supporting efforts to move the research from the labs to the market. In our ongoing review of state activities in 2019 (see our stories on free tuition offerings, climate change and clean energy), this week we report on new initiatives launched in 2019 that were focused on commercialization of technology. The following programs represent some of those efforts.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced more than $24 million in funding for 77 projects through its Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF), which will be matched by funds from the private sector. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 as a way to encourage energy innovation, each of the recently awarded TCF projects supports private sector efforts to commercialize technologies developed at DOE laboratories. In turn, these projects help “to maximize the impact of our research investment for the benefit of the entire nation,” DOE Chief Commercialization Officer Conner Prochaska said in a press release.  Projects involved company partners in 30 states, the District of Columbia and four other countries.  

Late last year, the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation announced a $23.7 million investment to strengthen technology-based economic development efforts at the University of Arkansas. Additional details on this investment became clearer this week, as the university announced three subsets of its Chancellor’s Fund, which invests in strategic initiatives under the direction of the vice chancellor for research and innovation.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced approximately $20 million in new funding through its Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) program. The PFI program offers NSF-funded researchers at institutions of higher education opportunities to connect new knowledge to societal benefit through translational research efforts and/or partnerships that encourage, enhance, and accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship.

While the U.S. remains the global leader in overall R&D spending, China has surpassed the U.S. in later stage technological investments, according to a new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). At its current rate of growth, the authors find that China’s investment in later-stage R&D could double that of the U.S. by 2018. Their analysis suggests that there is significant potential for the U.S to get more out of its R&D by strengthening the relationships between industry and research institutions.

While some researchers contend that university-industry collaboration may corrupt the academic ideal of open sciences and reduce academic productivity, researchers from the London Business School (LBS) and University of Southern California (USC) found that university-industry research collaborations – in certain situations – can lead to more publications but fewer patents than similar academic studies without industry partners. These findings would indicate that such collaboration can actually stimulate open science and increase academic productivity, rather than weaken it.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a solicitation committing up to $8 million to support between one and seven Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Nodes. The nodes are part of I-Corps’ National Innovation Network that builds upon fundamental research with the goal of dramatically reducing the period of time necessary to bring a promising idea from its inception to widespread implementation. NSF will support new or previously funded Nodes that will foster understanding on how to:

Cornell University has been selected to host a new Innovation Corps (I-Corps) node through a grant provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF). It, along with four other existing hubs, received new grants ranging between $3.4 million and $4.2 million to be awarded over a five-year period. The I-Corps nodes are designed to support research and innovation and teach entrepreneurship in higher education. The New York area node, with Cornell University as the lead institution and partners Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester, is intended to increase the success rate of technology startup teams forming in colleges and universities in the Northeast, including upstate NY. A network of business mentors for academic inventors will be established through the new node and the evaluation team will work to achieve economic development, education, and workforce development outcomes.

To improve private sector partnerships and increase commercialization efforts, the national labs should consider establishing external nonprofit entities to manage their commercialization efforts, according to a new report from Innovation Associates Inc. Supported by Argonne National Laboratory, the report – Enhancing National Laboratory Partnership and Commercialization Opportunities – highlights elements of several models that the author contends will improve U.S. economic prosperity by increasing the effectiveness of technology transfer and commercialization of technologies developed by the national laboratories as well as developing vital industry partnerships.