IX. Bringing in business expertise

Ever since the passage of PL 99-502 (the TT Act of 1986) [Appendix A], there have been an increasing number of offers to take advantage of various services, offered by conference arrangers, attorney firms, universities, and others claiming expertise in technology transfer (TT), which has now become the new buzz word throughout both the Federal Laboratories and a large number of commercial enterprises.

I think one must view these with caution. In my opinion, anyone claiming expertise in TT must be viewed with downright suspicion, since TT by definition includes so many different fields of expertise, including business, law, patents, negotiation, agreements of various types, government regulations, manufacturing, management, engineering, product design, field testing, evaluation, marketing, distribution, sales, maintenance, user training, and on and on. Furthermore, many of these fields themselves include various specialties. So what is an expert in TT?

Personally, I believe there is no such thing as an expert in TT. Therefore, one way to bring in the needed fields of expertise is to establish an Advisory Board including experts in the fields you are most likely to need for your operation. I have done this, using a Board of twelve non-government experts. I believe it is essential to use non-government people for this purpose, since they are not subject to the restrictions of government employees in what they say or do. Further, they are more likely to have experience in the "real" world of business, where the most important aspects of TT must occur, and finally, nothing they say is likely to affect their present or future position (i. e. there is no conflict of interest).

It always looks impressive to have a Board with notable names on it, but perhaps the hardest job is to make good use of the Board in accomplishing your TT goals. In our case, I soon learned that meetings of the full Board were of limited value, even when I thought I had a clear picture of what was to be accomplished by the end of the meeting. (It seldom was.) I later learned that by far the most helpful and useful person on the Board was the legal member, who is a patent attorney with considerable experience, having worked in the TT office of a large National Laboratory. Further, most of the help was accomplished by telephone with carefully planned, specific questions.

In our case, where the subject of transfer is rehabilitation technology, the various members represented expertise in law, business, venture capital, marketing, rehabilitation services, rehabilitation medicine, rehabilitation engineering, product design, manufacturing, third party payers, and end users.

A second way to bring in expertise is through the use of consultants. I have also used this mechanism with varying success. But through careful screening, and a willingness to switch consultants when appropriate, one can get very satisfying results. It is important, of course, to have a clear idea of why the consultant is being hired, what you want him/her to produce, how soon, and for how much money. Sometimes, though, it is difficult to tell how helpful the consulting is until the final result or product is presented, usually in the form of a meeting or a written report. The experts brought in as consultants so far in this operation have been in marketing, strategic planning, product design, and document production.

Perhaps the best way to learn about the realities of business and marketing is through discussions with those parties who come to the lab to discuss possibilities of collaboration or commercialization of specific products. It is largely through their questions and answers that one gains an understanding of what is needed or wanted by a potential partner before entering any arrangement or agreement.