Innovation is like love, aptly described by those old posters I used to see at my dentist’s office, “if you love something, set it free, and if it comes back to you, it’s yours…” Same thing for innovative technologies, novel methods and creative people. Here’s a poster that should hang in hallways: “If you want innovation to take place, set it free, and if it comes back to you – well – it’s not precisely yours, but at least you’ve succeeded in introducing genuine value to the rest of the world….”
So what’s the problem? The problem is that universities and the federal agencies keep trying to improve university innovation strategy by creating initiatives and programs whose intent is to gain more, not less control over university research. However, throwing more money and resources at the problem without gaining a deeper understanding of the problem won’t change anything. Without a more radical approach, we’ll keep recycling the same programs and initiatives that merely re-mix the status quo.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Innovation is like love: set it free and if it comes back to you, it’s (partially) yours « Triple Helix Innovation
Author: MELBA KURMAN
