tech transfer

In Technology Transfer in Southeast Wisconsin, a new report from the Public Policy Forum, researchers call for a "full-fledged collaborative infrastructure" that is adept at transferring technologies developed at the region's research institutions to entrepreneurs that will use them to create businesses and jobs in the region. The report does tout some efforts to develop a collaborative infrastructure for the knowledge economy including the recently established Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin (CTSI) — a collaborative dedicated to using research to inform and improve medical practice that includes the region's prominent research and academic institutions. However, according to the report, "many more dollars are spent on research and development than are recouped in licensing royalties or equity positions in new companies" in southeastern Wisconsin. To remedy this problem, the report provides three models that could enhance regional collaboration in technology transfer and potentially augment the effectiveness of existing efforts:

Proposals that promise job creation and economic growth have taken center stage in several state legislatures. Lawmakers who recognize the importance of R&D, tech commercialization, access to risk capital, and investment in higher education are fighting for passage of TBED-focused bills in the final months of their states' 2011 legislative sessions. A bill to revive the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act, which failed in the legislature last year, recently passed the House with broad, bi-partisan support, restoring hope for the program that aims to grow science and technology companies. Meanwhile, two bills in Connecticut seek to boost technology transfer and lawmakers in Alaska and Florida are pushing for statewide R&D tax credits. An overview of select bills relating to TBED is included below.

Competing priorities, lack of funding, and inflexible negotiation strategies are among the challenges the Government Accountability Office found for the Department of Energy's efforts to transfer technology out of the DOE labs.

To speed the commercialization of technologies developed within the state's three public research universities, the Arizona state auditor general has made several recommendations that also may be of value to tech transfer efforts and academic institutions across the country.