Jobs. Companies. Innovation. If you have picked up a newspaper or watched the news lately, you know these are hot topics. In these difficult, but recovering, economic times, new ideas that would spur innovation and therefore increase jobs are proposed in a number of forums. One such idea, from the Kauffman Foundation, has received a lot of attention. You may have seen it in Harvard Business Review’s Breakthrough Ideas for 2010. But well before that article appeared, a separate, more detailed communication was provided by the Kauffman Foundation to the higher echelons of the Department of Commerce.
The ideas proposed in the article have generated considerable dialog and commentary. There seems to be some misunderstanding of AUTM’s position on this issue. Let me lay out our position for the record.
To be clear, AUTM encourages open discussion from a broad range of scholars, practitioners, policy makers and any interested stakeholders about how research commercialization can be advanced. In a recent letter to the Department of Commerce, we provided a critique of the Kauffman proposal and asked to engage in a constructive dialogue about how the technology transfer process can be enhanced. To that end, I will participate in a forum on research commercialization hosted by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on February 24, along with individuals representing universities, industry, investors, and of course the Kauffman Foundation.
I spent the past week in Washington, D.C. and met with congressional staffers, representatives from Commerce, Association of American Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, American Council on Education, Council on Governmental Relations, National Institutes on Standards and Technology and others. The conversations covered the Kauffman proposal and the role of government, universities and industry in enhancing university research commercialization. The Department of Commerce has solicited many ideas, has assured us that they are open for continued discussion and input from stakeholders, and is not endorsing any particular course of action at this time. This process is just beginning and I am sure that AUTM will play a continued and significant role.