An Appraisal of the Optimal Conditions for Successful Technology Transfer to a Low Technology Industry: the Case of Publicly Funded Food Research in Ireland

Operating in an environment characterised by significant economic, political and social change, the requirement for scientific-based innovation is critical for the food industry. The current low level of R&D in the sector, and a growing recognition that companies need to look to knowledge sources outside as well as inside the firm to successfully innovate, brings the need for enhanced leveraging of publicly funded food research into focus. This paper presents the findings of a mixed methods approach. This consists of twenty case studies of completed publicly funded projects, ten of which had achieved technology transfer and ten which had failed to achieve previously stated technology transfer objectives. Research results from a survey of the population of publicly funded food researchers and a food industry survey are also presented. The findings highlight the key role of mechanisms to support tacit knowledge transfer and in particular emphasise the importance of continued involvement of the researcher in the transfer process

Macro, Meso and Micro Perspectives of Technology Transfer

Over the last few decades research into the different aspects of technology transfer has grown significantly that has taken in the main a macro perspective. This research has created a body of knowledge and an evidence base that has contributed original insights in developing the field and also has shaped policymaking and practice. Within the field there is a growing focus on meso and micro aspects of technology transfer and a growing interest in for example role individual actors such as scientists, principal investigators policy makers, TTO actors, supporting institutions and functions such as universities, professional research organizations, technology and knowledge transfer offices. This research is unearthing fine-grained nuances and insights that provide further evidence of how technology transfer activities are shaped and evolve in different geographical and organizational contexts. The purpose of this special issue is to provide a further understanding of macro, meso and micro perspectives of technology transfer and to provide an agenda for further research that blends these multi-level perspectives of technology transfer

How Principal Investigators’ Commercial Experience Influences Technology Transfer and Market Impacts

Businesses can benefit from university–industry collaborations, yet they rarely take full advantage of them. Scientists who serve as principal investigators (PIs) act as the nucleus of university–industry collaborations and partner with industry to cocreate value. We conducted a case study of PIs at publicly funded research universities, institutes, and organizations in Ireland to explore how having commercial experience influences how PIs approach technology transfer and how they develop new business models, products, and services. We learned that PIs’ prior commercial experience influences how they approach their research, project work, and project selection and affects how they commercialize knowledge and outputs from their scientific research––that is, patents, licences, agreements, etc.––throughout the project’s life cycle. In university– industry collaborations, PIs’ commercial experience can impact industry partners’ attempts to realize technology transfer and market impacts

The Role of Project Coordinators in European Commission Framework Programme Projects

Programme Research and Innovation projects, a purposeful sample of European Framework Programme (FP) Project Coordinators (PC). The objective is to identify the practices and activities of PCs leading EU FP projects and to understand their impact on innovation outcomes. The survey findings confirm the lynchpin role of PCs in the European FP R&I projects. Their role clearly extends significantly beyond that identified in the Horizon 2020 User Guide which sees the PC as “the main contact point between the consortium and the Commission for a particular grant”. The PC is far more than simply “the proposal initiator in the submission phase” but taking account of their prime role in project conceptualisation and consortia formation, the PC is in effect the principal translator of the EC funded research programme and responsible for how the majority of the European research budget is invested. Identifying the PC as a scientific entrepreneur significantly changes how the PC role is viewed. Recognising the PC as a scientific entrepreneur means their engagement with the PC during the project should be less about monitoring and oversight during project implementation, and more about providing the entrepreneur with support

Data Mining to Predict Climate and Groundwater Use Impacts on the Hydrology of Central Florida

2012 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Exploring Opportunities for Collaborative Water Research, Policy and Managemen

APOLLO: A randomized phase II double-blind study of olaparib versus placebo following curative intent therapy in patients with resected pancreatic cancer and a pathogenic BRCA1, BRCA2 or PALB2 mutation-ECOG-ACRIN EA2192

Background: A meaningful subset of PDAC is characterized by a homologous recombination deficiency (HRD). The most well-defined patients within this group are those with pathogenic variants in BRCA1, BRCA2 and PALB2. In the metastatic setting, PARP inhibitor maintenance provides a progression-free survival benefit after a period of platinum based chemotherapy1,2, but the role of PARP inhibitors in the curative intent setting is undefined. The OlympiA study established one year of olaparib as the standard of care for patients with BRCA-related, early stage breast cancer who completed all other curative-intent treatment3. Therefore, we have designed a randomized, phase II double-blind study of one year of olaparib vs placebo in patients with pancreatic cancer and a germline or somatic variant in BRCA or PALB2 who have completed all curative intent therapy. Methods: We have enrolled and treated 23 of 152 planned patients on study NCT 04858334/EA2192. Eligibility criteria include: a pathogenic germline or somatic variant in BRCA1, BRCA2 or PALB2 as determined by local laboratory (central review required); completion of curative-intent resection and ≥ three months of multi-agent chemotherapy; no evidence of recurrent disease. At enrollment, patients must be within 12 weeks of their last anti-cancer intervention. Patients are randomized 2:1 to receive oral olaparib 300 mg twice daily or placebo for 12 28-day cycles. The primary endpoint is relapse-free survival. Overall survival is a secondary endpoint. Tumor tissue, fecal material (for microbiome analysis) and serial ctDNA samples are being collected

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

An Appraisal of the Optimal Conditions for Successful Technology Transfer to a Low Technology Industry: the Case of Publicly Funded Food Research in Ireland

Operating in an environment characterised by significant economic, political and social change, the requirement for scientific-based innovation is critical for the food industry. The current low level of R&D in the sector, and a growing recognition that companies need to look to knowledge sources outside as well as inside the firm to successfully innovate, brings the need for enhanced leveraging of publicly funded food research into focus. This paper presents the findings of a mixed methods approach. This consists of twenty case studies of completed publicly funded projects, ten of which had achieved technology transfer and ten which had failed to achieve previously stated technology transfer objectives. Research results from a survey of the population of publicly funded food researchers and a food industry survey are also presented. The findings highlight the key role of mechanisms to support tacit knowledge transfer and in particular emphasise the importance of continued involvement of the researcher in the transfer process