At the end of every one of our conferences we introduce a little change. Some board members leave, new ones arrive. These types of administrative changes occur every year and they have, in pretty much the same way, occurred for the last twenty years. But this year I want to invite you to consider the case for making some fundamental changes to our association.
But why, you may ask, do we need such change? Is there something wrong with AUTM? Are we facing a crisis? Quite the contrary, actually. Our membership numbers for this past year have rebounded and attendance at this and our previous annual meeting have surpassed our expectations. Financially, I am pleased to advise, we have achieved surpluses in this past year and the year before. To me there is no better time than good times to make changes. We are not on the defensive; we are not trying to solve a money problem or a relevancy issue. Now is the time for AUTM to chart its own course and move to the future. Not because we have to do so, but because we choose to do so.
This course of change has begun already with a year in which we gathered more data and opinions about our organization than we ever have in the past. We conducted a comprehensive Member Needs Survey, we commissioned a demographic analysis of where our members come from and how well we are doing to make the case for AUTM membership across America. Finally we hired an external consulting organization to look at the relationship between AUTM and its association management company, the Sherwood Group and this study not only told us that we have a sound working relationship with Sherwood, it also pointed out some challenges that we will face by virtue of the way we are organized and the way we manage our affairs.
These reports, collectively and individually, tell us that there is not only a desire for change but reflect an imperative for change. If we embrace the call for change now we can bring about strategic initiatives that will put us in a better position in five years with change, than without. Lets look at the case for change through the lens of our three pillars:
Advocacy:
It is clear that technology transfer, now more than ever, exists within a fishbowl of increased scrutiny from stakeholders, both internal and external. This "new reality" of our profession had not grown up over night but instead has been steadily escalating through a series of lighting rod issues such as the global fiscal crisis, the AIA, the Startup Act and now with sequester. Some of these issues are particularly impactful upon our profession while others reflect the fact that the world, as we know it, has changed and will, in all likelihood, continue to change. In fact, the last time there was this much attention from governments affecting academic tech transfer the result was the introduction of the Bayh Dole act.
I would suggest that now, more than ever, here and abroad, legislative bodies and economic development agencies have added technology transfer to their "toolbox" of measures to improve and enhance economies at both the local and national level. While it is not necessarily a bad thing that our profession is garnering such increased attention, it is, however, unfortunate that the genesis of these initiatives is that something must be done to “fix technology transfer”.
Historically when these issues have arisen domestically there has been consultations by legislators with organizations such as AAU, APLU and COGR and others but more and more so over the past few years there has been a shift to seek input directly from AUTM. And this is a good start. In my opinion, however, AUTM needs to be doing more to drive the policy agenda where there is the potential for impact on technology transfer. We need to do more on the Hill and in Governors’ offices to educate and inform elected officials about the strong economic contribution that our industry makes year in and year out.
By putting information about the impacts and efforts of technology transfer onto the local, state and federal agenda we can greatly reduce the likelihood that AUTM will be put on the defensive on initiatives such as the Startup Act.
This Act, now in its third iteration, relies upon AUTM data to make the case that radical and ill-conceived changes are necessary to improve the performance of Academic Technology Transfer. We vocally support the majority of the provisions of this bill but despite the great efforts of hardworking volunteers on our Public Policy committee we have not been able, over the course of two previous drafts, to dislodge the convenient untruth that Free Agency will somehow make things easier, faster, more beneficial.
That seed was planted in the minds of the bill’s sponsors long before it was first introduced and now we are on the defensive again. The fact is: we don’t oppose Free Agency because it threatens us, we oppose Free Agency because it is so ill conceived that it not only has the capacity to confuse and impair tech transfer as we know it, but it could, conceivably undermine the foundation of success that we have built since Bayh Dole.
We need to change the way we approach advocacy. Move away from reacting to what outsiders say or do and start proactively making the case for the preservation and enhancement of the tech transfer system. In order to do this we have to break with the conventions of our past and create proactive new channels and methods of advocacy.
Professional Development:
As of now there are more people offering technology transfer courses, seminars, webinars, newsletters and blogs that at any time in the past. At the same time there are fewer and fewer dollars available for courses and travel, and those financial pressures are likely only going to get worse before they get better.
There have been so many changes in the landscape of professional development that you really do need a program just to know the players. It used to be you would see a prominent member of our community teaching tech transfer only at AUTM. Now you may now see that person at any number of venues presenting on behalf of any number of organizations. I, for one, embrace these new participants in our space. Competition, to me, not only will make us better at events and courses but also demonstrates how hungry the market is for solid training in technology transfer.
But AUTM needs to do more than just change the courses we offer each year or the locations in which they are taught. We need to change our entire delivery system so that we can ensure that every person who wants to get the best training, AUTM training, wherever they may be, can have access to that training.
We need to ensure that our members understand how the training we offer is not just about them attending a lecture, its about how AUTM’s professional development efforts are helping members in advancing themselves along a defined career path to a valuable objective such at becoming an Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP). We must be prepared to embrace new realities in our profession such as an ever increasing concentration on startup companies or the evolution, or devolution, of the pharmaceutical industry and reflect these realities in new core course offerings so that we future proof our members through training.
To do these things we must move away from courses that place too great a reliance upon volunteers that create content that leaves the room with them as soon as they are finished. We must continue to build upon the knowledge base and faculty that is AUTM Professional Development; created by AUTM, delivered by AUTM and certified by AUTM.
We have already begun to evolve our thinking on how we deliver cutting edge programming through initiatives such as the Coulter Foundation funding announced earlier. If we change the way that new content and radical ideas are accelerated through our organization and into practice we will be able to create and deliver professional development that will be the envy of the industry world wide.
Member Benefits:
The third pillar of our organization is, to me, the most important: Member Benefits. This pillar is, at the same time, the hardest to define and the easiest to measure. When we deliver new and innovative programs that are included in the cost of your membership we are, hopefully, getting it right and you actually feel that you are getting more for your money. When we see that members are staying in the profession and not renewing their memberships we must be prepared to admit that, for some, the relevance of AUTM is not what it once was.
In fact we can see from the surveys we have conducted that there is no “One Size Fits All” benefit to members. A member new to the profession has different expectations than the director of an office, just as a service provider has a different reason for joining than an academic outside the US. Our membership is more diverse, and not just geographically, than ever before and there is nothing to suggest that the rate of change will ebb at any time soon. Within this diverse membership there are pockets of specialized need that we must find a way to accelerate through the system to ensure that new ideas become new member benefits faster.
One such initiative that I have had the opportunity to be a very small part of is a new Material Transfer Agreement initiative lead by Associate VP Steve Harsey. This committee has worked diligently for months in developing a set of tools that will help AUTM members better cope with the demands that are being placed on them due to increasingly complicated MTA’s. What these hardworking AUTM volunteers have done is to create an entirely new knowledge base from which all of us can benefit.
To me this is the future of member benefits. This initiative came not from the Board but from the membership, up through committees and working groups. By sacrificing personal time and donating incredible expertise these members have created what will soon be a benefit not just for themselves but for AUTM members as a whole.
These changes to which I am committed are not an abandonment of our Three Pillars but rather a recognition of the obligation that this organization owes to each of you as dues paying members. It is my belief that AUTM, as an association, has reached a turning point in our history. We have changed over the years. We have grown to a certain size and achieved a certain level of success, yes, but the question must be asked: Have we evolved our organization to the place that it must be in 2013 and beyond? In answer to this question I would have to say: Not Yet.
I am very honoured and pleased to serve as the President of this association for the next twelve months but these remarks, my first during my term, are not so much about what I will do over the coming year but rather what we must do together over the coming years to create real change. It is time for AUTM to innovate.
Innovation is not something that we are unfamiliar with, not at all. We see it every day in our labs and we demand it from our staff who are commercializing discoveries. We expect it from our licensees and we encourage it in our students. But we, as an association, have yet to embrace innovation as an essential element of this organization.
Will all of this be achieved in the next twelve months? The truthful answer is, No. However over the next twelve months it is my desire to unburden this organization from certain operational and structural limitations that I believe are holding AUTM back. Rest assured, my desire for change should never be seen as negative reflection on the years of volunteer service that has been provided by those who have come before me. To me it is not about the past but about the future. My my goal during the months between San Antonio and San Francisco will be to set the stage for changes that Jane Muir and her successors can build upon.
I am convinced that if we make these bold moves now AUTM shall emerge as an organization that is not only relevant to its members, but is important to its members. AUTM will not only be a voice at the table of public policy, it will be driving the discussions that shape public policy and finally AUTM will not just be providing courses and conferences but it will be the global leader in the delivery of professional development courses and accreditation of academic technology transfer professionals.
Check back with me over the course of these next twelve months and I will let you know how we are doing on the road towards the new AUTM.