I’ve just returned from a visit to Washington, DC and I was joined by Ashley Stevens, AUTM President, Arundeep Pradhan, Immediate Past President, and Andy Cohn, VP Public Policy. We spent the better part of a day visiting with Hill staffers as a follow-up to the hearing held last week on accelerating commercialization. In all of our visits there was one consistent point/question/interest that we addressed, “What else can the federal government do to accelerate commercialization?” Outside of oil spill concerns, this phrase, “accelerate commercialization” is The Buzz in Washington, DC, which generates both excitement and fear for me.
Exciting because we are in the midst of an unprecedented opportunity to educate policy makers about what you do, the impact of technology transfer on society and the Bayh-Dole Act. Frightening because there is a bit of a Ready, Fire, Aim method of trying to do something about technology transfer in Washington right now. Everyone is interested, but few really understand what it is they are interested in. And, let me say up front making changes to the Bayh-Dole Act won’t accomplish anything. The Act is a simple and effective law and should be left alone. If you want to know what should be done, read on.
On the flight home I was flipping through the USA Today left outside my hotel room and I came across this article, Toledo Reinvents Itself as a Solar-Power Innovator . If any policy maker wants to know what they can do to accelerate commercialization they should take this story to heart. It outlines how a city and its community are transforming themselves from a manufacturing wasteland to an innovation ecosystem (another favorite buzz phrase at the moment) which is addressing real-time human needs. But what is most important is how the story illustrates the many stakeholders involved in making this transformation a reality. Technology transfer plays an important role, but it is just one slice of the pie. There needs to be buy-in from university leadership, investors, state and local government, businesses, and the community. Making the kind of impact that has happened in Toledo isn’t easy, but obviously it can be done. A lot of people have to come to the table and be incentivized to do so.
This idea of accelerating commercialization is a good one and I know AUTM is on board to make it happen. Let’s look at this realistically and not be led by political timelines. I’d like to hear from you about efforts in your community and what works. Please share your successes here.