Hot Topics—Making Sense of the Buzz

Budgets are not unlimited, and every technology transfer office needs to find ways to do more with less. However, some cost-cutting solutions do not always have the financial impact that TTOs had hoped for. One must consider the long-term impact of short-term cost cuts. We offer insights on internship programs and low-cost/free service providers, as well as cost-effective processes that keep your TTO managing IP efficiently now and into the future.

Internship Programs

Although often viewed as a good way to cut costs, internship programs require significant investment. In addition to the links below, see more Fuentek insights about how to make your internship program pay off.

• How to Structure an Effective Internship Program

  Interns can be a great help if you structure the internship program right.

• TTO Intern Success Is a Two-Way Street

  It’s tempting to think of interns as cheap/free labor. But you must invest in them before they can provide a valuable return to the TTO.

• Considering the “Why?” of Interns and Technology Screenings

  Using interns for screenings allows tech managers to spend their time focusing on the real end-game: getting deals.

• Stories From the Field: Lessons Learned in Training Interns

  Even the best interns will flounder if improperly trained.

• Stories From the Field: Insights for Intern Training and Mentoring

  Provide nuanced guidance over time.

• Developing an Effective Internship Program for Your University’s Technology Transfer Office

  Insights into some of the best practices learned at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), which is described in an accompanying case study.

Low-Cost/Free Services

• Crowdsourcing: Move Beyond the Buzz, Consider the Costs

  Are you factoring in all of the cost aspects of the crowdsourcing model for open innovation?

• Keep Your Eyes Wide Open When Offered a “Free” Service

  TTOs should proceed with caution in “free” service arrangements.

• Best Practices for Intellectual Property Listing Sites

  Follow these tips when deciding what, how and where to advertise your IP on these Web sites, which can yield low-cost leads for your technology commercialization program.

• The Pros and Cons of No-Cost License Revenue-Sharing Patent Marketing and Brokerage Services

  This white paper provides guidance for federal agencies considering various venues for “passively” marketing their technologies.

Cost-Effective IP Management Processes

One of the main ways TTOs can be cost-effective is to do a rapid screening of invention disclosure before patenting. In addition to the links below, see more Fuentek insights about technology screenings and the role they play in proactive IP management.

• Consider the Long-Term Impact of Cost-Cutting Solutions

  Slowing down or even stopping patenting and marketing activities because of budget constraints costs more in the long run.

• Why Do Screenings—Webcast Now Available

  Why it’s important to screen invention disclosures before patenting.

• Screening Techs Before Patenting Pays Off: Running the Numbers

  Cost savings are achieved by patenting fewer innovations and by not filing applications for unpatentable technologies.

• The Value of Technology Screenings: Let’s Do the Math

  The cost of not performing a screening can be very expensive for the TTO.

• Reaping Long-Term Rewards from Strategic IP Portfolio Screening: Stories from the Field

  How an efficient and effective IP portfolio screening helped a university do more than just prioritize its IP for future technology transfer and marketing efforts.

• Online Tools Save Time and Money and Enhance Your Technology Commercialization Marketing

  Web sites, blogs, Web conferences, video demonstrations, podcasts, etc. can save you time and money and greatly enhance your technology commercialization efforts.

Social media is the new business as usual, and most TTOs want to incorporate social media into their marketing tool box. These insights explain why using social media tools is a good idea for your TTO and how to strategically and proactively use social media along with traditional marketing tools—within the context of marketing communications best practices.

• New White Paper Will Help Kickstart Your Digital Marketing Program

  An all-inclusive primer about planning and executing a comprehensive digital media program for TTOs.

• Social Media: Choose the Right Sites and Make Your Message Clear

  Just because we’re taking the whiz-bang features of social media by the reins doesn’t mean we can ignore the basics. We still must always be clear about who we are talking to and what they care about.

• Blogs and Microblogging Can Be Valuable Tools

  A collection of blog posts that provide an overview of these two tools that can deliver real value to a TTO.

• Webinar: How I Rode the Social Media Wave: Lessons Learned from a Technology Marketing Effort

  This case study gives an insider’s peek at a real-world technology marketing campaign.

Metrics are a significant topic among technology transfer offices. Although selecting success metrics is a subjective process that is highly individualized for each organization, there are best practices in metrics collection and success measurement. Consider these insights.

Key Insights

• How’d We Do?: Establishing Useful Technology Transfer Metrics

  This white paper provides research-based recommendations for measuring performance and success of tech transfer programs in government, academic, and corporate institutions.

• Metrics to Measure Your Technology Licensing Success: The M in PRISM

  How to identify and efficiently capture your key operational metrics.

• A Balanced Scorecard Template for Tech Transfer Offices

  Fuentek developed a set of standard metrics for TTOs and have adapted them to the Balanced Scorecard framework.

Other Insights

In addition to the insights below, see more Fuentek insights about economic development–related metrics.

• Conversations with DoD & the White House on Federal Tech Transfer Initiatives

  Fuentek recommendations for increasing the likelihood and efficiency of getting research results to market.

• Redefining Metrics: AUTM Eastern Region Attendees Discuss the Start-Up Dichotomy

  The disconnect between having start-ups and revenue as primary metrics. Consider our white paper, “How’d We Do?: Establishing Useful Technology Transfer Metrics.”

• Why University TTOs Are Getting a Bad Rap—and Why That’s Just Not Right

  There is a systemic problem and piling the blame on TTOs is not fair. But it’s not that university TTOs are clueless; it’s that the TTOs are under-resourced.

Fuentek has gained a lot of attention for our virtual structure. Here are our insights on creating an effective office outside the typical brick-and-mortar format.

Key Insights

• Virtual Workforce Best Practices and Lessons Learned

  Managing a virtual organization requires greater focus and intensity on how you effective manage your staff.

• Schoppe Talks with Simon

  Laura digs deeper into some of the issues of being a virtual company.

• Making Your Company into a Virtual Organization

  An article published in Mobility Entrepreneur Magazine, provided here with the publisher’s permission.

• For Telecommuters, It’s Not about Going to Work

  Feb. 9, 2010 National Public Radio story

Other Insights

• Phil Simon Interviews Fuentek for New Book

  The New Small will feature Fuentek and other unique small companies seeking new and innovative ways to do business.

• Virtual teams are a SMART approach to running your organization

  Improve your enterprise’s Success by establishing and Managing a virtual team to enhance your organization’s Agility and increase staff Retention by leveraging Technology.

• Talking (Virtual) Shop with TrendPOV

  Dr. Amy Vanderbilt and Laura Schoppe discuss how Fuentek is structured as a virtual business.

• Flex Options In The Workplace

  Insights from a Department of Labor Women’s Bureau teleconference.

Fuentek shares our thoughts about the latest news stories, blog posts, and more about tech transfer–related topics.

• Patent Filings Gone Wild (or The Biggest Mistake You Can Make Under the America Invents Act)

  Some in the industry suggest that the USPTO’s shift from a “first to invent” to a “first inventor to file” policy demands the virtually automatic filing of quick-and-dirty provisionals on everything. We hope that tech transfer offices do not heed this advice. Read this post to learn why and what we recommend instead.

• Free IP Circumvents the Nickel-and-Dime’ing in SRAs

  To what extent universities are nickle-and-dime’ing their research sponsors to death by holding onto IP rights. Consider Penn State University’s latest move.

• Worth Reading: Biases, Funding, TTO Activities, IP Rights, Communication, and Trolls

  How Universities Fail Women Inventors, Getting Good Technology out of the Lab and into the Marketplace, TTOs in the news, US Competitiveness Report Shows Struggle with Balance of IP and Access, Effective Communication, and “When Patents Attack!” Inforgraphic

• Worth Reading: Recent writings (and recordings) on tech transfer topics

  An Insider’s Guide to the HotHouse, Learning from Open Innovation, Shooting Ourselves in the Foot, and an interview with the author of Deadly Monopolies

• Good Reads in Tech Transfer

  A New Prescription, University/Industry Partnerships Work: Don’t Kill the Golden Goose, When Patents Attack, Public & Private Sector’s Co-Creative Success, and two Fuentek articles in LES Insights