A Study of the Factors Associated with Successful Technology Transfer and their Applicability to Air Force Technology Transfers

Although the United States is a world leader in scientific research, it lags behind some economic powers in the application of technologies. As quality and manufacturing excellence were critical to US competitiveness in the l98Os, so is commercializing technologies in the 199Os. With billion dollar budgets and exceptional scientific talent, the potential for fruitful technology transfer is abundant. By definition, federal-to-commercial technology transfer is the ability to leverage national investments in technology beyond their traditional customer base. The technology can be physical devices, processes, knowledge, or proprietary information. Unfortunately, and despite exhaustive legislative efforts, US industry has fallen behind its competitors in the application of federal technologies to commercial uses. However, research indicates that some organizations routinely experience successful technology transfer actions. In fact, studies identify a gap between the technology transfer rates of some universities and government laboratories. The objective of this thesis effort is to pinpoint techniques which may improve Air Force technology transfer. First, previous literature is utilized to identify attributes associated with successful technology transfers. Surveys, which define the presence of successful attributes, are personally administered to key individuals on acquiring and developing teams of Air Force laboratory sponsored technology transfer projects. Data from 19 technology transfer projects are analyzed. Results of the analysis pinpoint techniques which can be used to improve Air Force technology transfer strategies. (MM