Technology transfer from universities and federal laboratories has evolved and matured over the last 30 years. Today, it is widely accepted that technology transfer must be able to encompass partnerships that go beyond licensing technologies flowing serendipitously out of federally funded scientific research. Across the academic and federal sectors, sponsored research and collaborative endeavors with industry have become expected. The Department of Energy’s national laboratories have long embraced this effort, working with small and large, and national and international companies and consortia to develop and move technologies closer to and into the marketplace.
A wonderful aspect of humanity is that we have the capability to choose to evolve, mature and improve our circumstances. And so, as we move into and beyond Web 2.0, Government 2.0 and other next-generation concepts, deeper into the 21st century, so too are we seeing a next generation of federal technology transfer begin to blossom. We are coming to understand and implement “innovation ecosystems” and “open innovation” models that recognize the importance of integrating disciplines and of bringing people together to exchange ideas—creating synergies and a more mature innovation pathway better able to address the larger problems of this new millennium.
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