Download University Research Commercialization Policies in the US

University research commercialization policies and
their implementation in Lithuania, the Netherlands
and USA
Liudvika Leišytė
Center for Higher Education Policy Studies
University of Twente, The Netherlands
Center for European Studies
Harvard University
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Flow of the talk
• Debates on University-Industry nexus
• Research commercialization policies in Lithuania, the
Netherlands and the US
• Uptake of these policies in the three countries
• Reflection: the co - existence of different cultures
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Introduction
• Different models of university-industry-government linkages
point to the importance of university in the process of
innovation (Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 1996, Gibbons et al. 1994)
• Universities have struggled for a long time to define their
position to the business world (Geiger 2004)
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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University research
commercialization
• The policies are geared toward universities as
organizations, university scientists, and industry.
• Different policy instruments used to promote knowledge
transfer between universities and industry.
• The dynamics of industry geared towards global
competition.
• The arrival of “big science”.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Changes in the norms of science
• Professional norms and capitalization of knowledge.
• A more utilitarian perspective on economic potential of
academic research.
• Academic entrepreneurship – scientists engaging in the
commercialization of their knoweldge (Etzkowitz 2008, Owen Smith
and Powell 2003, Ziman 2000).
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Lithuanian R&D
• After 1990, regained
independence led to lost
funding from Moscow,
radically changing the R&D
structure.
• Industry often opted for
technologies developed by
internationally-known
companies rather than local
researchers.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Lithuanian HE and Research Policies
•
•
•
•
•
2002: White Paper on Lithuanian Science and Technology
2003: Program for the Development of High Technologies
2003: Program for Innovation in Business
2002-2006: Setting Priority Trends of Lithuanian R&D
2003-2012: Development of Strategic Provisions of the
Lithuanian Education System
• 2009: The Law on Science and Higher Education
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Funding of Lithuanian research
• Lithuania started with a low R&D intensity (GERD: 0,69% of
GDP in 2001).
• The efforts to increase funding for R&D as a proportion of
GDP resulted in the growth from 0.46 percent in 1995 to
0.83 percent in 2007 (World Bank 2009, p.8).
• The private sector invests 0.24 percent of GDP in R&D and
employs only 4 percent of all researchers in Lithuania.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Policy initiatives
• Since 2002, 11 technology parks have been created to
foster the interaction between public research
institutions and private sector.
• The efficiency of these parks is very low and that only
some of the activities are actually related to the R&D
(World Bank 2009, p. 25).
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Policy initiatives
• Five science clusters program ( 2008-ongoing), based on
competitive infrastructure development funds from the
European Structural Funds.
• Draft National Innovation Strategy of 2009: an innovation
voucher system to be introduced 2010 in Lithuania.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Uptake of policies
• Until recent European Structural Funds’ support for science,
there has been rather limited financial support to implement
R&D policies.
• The universities seldom have support services for
intellectual property or for industry sponsorship
development.
• Some universities, especially those on the technological
side, have contract funding from industry although the bulk
of the funding comes from the public purse.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Uptake of policies
• The Lithuanian National Patent Office is in operation since
the regaining of independence and the Law on Patents is
being currently discussed.
• Looking at the yearly turnover, one can see that the
patenting numbers are rather low per university (Patent
Office 2009).
• The commercialization of knowledge is still a very new
phenomenon for Lithuanian universities.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Focus on research in the Netherlands
• The White Paper 1979 (the Policy Document University
Research, or BUOZ-paper).
• It stated that public research should increasingly
become 1) (nationally) programmed, 2) more
transparent and in harmony with social needs, 3)
evaluated in terms of quality, and 4) accounted for (De
Boer et al. 2006).
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Dutch R&D policy initiatives
• Reward excellence and improve the utilization of science
(Science Budget 2004)
• The Innovation Charter (2006) introduced common shared rules
of patent ownership & licensing
• Governmental biotechnology and nanotechnology programs
(Stigon, Biopartner, Centres of Excellence)
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Policy instruments
• The Innovation Oriented Research program 1981
• The development of the Technological Top Institutes 1997
• The Bsik-grant, ”Knowledge and Research capacity” 1990 using
the receipts of natural gas exploitation
• Innovation vouchers and tax incentives
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Dutch R&D Funding
• In the Netherlands, the R&D expenditure has fluctuated
around 2 % of the GDP.
• Companies are the largest sponsors, with a share of 51% in
2003.
• The proportion of government spending as a percentage of
GDP fell from 1.0 per cent in 1990 to 0.64 percent in 2003.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Uptake of policies in the NL
• Dutch universities own their patents and, up to 2004, had
their own rules about knowledge commercialization
procedures.
• Universities have a diverse organizational structure for
promotion of technology transfer, and its institutionalization
varies from one university to another.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Uptake of policies in the NL
• Looking at university expenditures, there is a rise in contract
revenues for research between 1990 and 2004. As reported
by the MOCW, the private share during this period rose from
22 to 32 percent (MOCW 2008).
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Early focus on research in the US
The report Science: The Endless Frontier 1945, in which
Vannevar Bush advised President Roosevelt to invest in
basic science in universities and harness the experiences of
the mobilization of science during the war for the peacetime
goals of improving the economy and living standards (Bush
1980).
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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University Research
Commercialization Policies in the US
• The Economic Recovery Tax Act 1980
• The exemption of industry research consortia from antitrust
laws 1984.
• The Bayh-Dole Act 1980
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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R&D Funding in the US
• In 2006, the R&D share of GDP in the US was 2.57%, which
is rather high compared with the EU average of 1.77%.
• In the 1950s, industrial funding of university research was
about 1% on average, while in 2006, the private sector
accounted for 20% of university R&D funding.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Policy Instruments
• The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small
Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
• Specific initiatives to promote Nanotechnology through NSF
and DARPA funding and Biotechnology through NIH funding
• State level programs (Nanotechnology Initiative in one case
study state, 63mln USD in 2006, R&D tax credits)
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Uptake of policies in the US
• University research commercialization has been seen as a
“golden goose” contributing to the national economy in the
US by the government (Owen-Smith, 2006, p. 64).
• “Revolutionary” process (Etzkowitz, Webster, and Healey
1998) in part because research commercialization changed
the way the academic mission of university is understood.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Uptake of policies in the US
• Big collaborative research centers and laboratories, science
parks, and high-technology incubators.
• In 2007, there were 22 funded centers, which were largescale interdisciplinary programs, in cooperation with
industry.
• Universities were accommodating in changing internal
policies to adapt to “the team based, cross-departmental
activities of scientists participating in these research
centers” (Geiger and Sa, 2008, p. 74).
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Uptake of policies in the US
• The university initiatives range from marketing of intellectual
property to active venture capital investment and to
contractual networks.
• Introduced new professional groups, shifted academic
career trajectories, and changed academic stratification
hierarchies.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Institutionalization of knowledge
transfer in universities
• US: The Association of University Tecnology Managers (AUTM,
2007) data shows most of the tech transfer offices became
operational in the eighties. 50% of them were created in the
period between 1980-1990.
Netherlands: universities established foundations that has
the function of TTOs. Since 2004 university policies are
changing: new “valorisation” indicators have been
introduced.
• Lithuania: University technology transfer is still rather
limited.
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Conclusion
• The major concern related to the uptake of the research
commercialization policies expressed by academics in all
countries is the university as an academic institution – how
compatible it is with a proprietary culture of competitiveness
(Bok 2003, Owen-Smith 2006).
• What do the private gain and the culture of secrecy mean
for the open science, for its quality and academic freedom?
• What does the commercialization mean for the academic
careers and credibility building?
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Reflection
• Universities are being increasingly driven to adopt similar policies
with regard to the tech transfer function. The concept of
institutional isomorphism helps explain the pressures faced by
universities and contextualizes policy shifts with regard to tech
transfer. (Di Maggio and Powell, 1983)
• There is only a limited convergence of the roles and norms of
‘public’ and ‘private’ science – they co-exist. To a large extent,
the institution of public science persists – reinforced both by the
need to build academic crediblity, and by the ability to diversify
their funding base. (Latour and Woolgar, 1979)
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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Thank you for your attention!
Liudvika Leišytė, Vilnius, September 25, 2009
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