Home > Topics > Establishing and Operating Technology Transfer Offices > Training Staff in IP Management > Editor's Summary, Implications and Best Practices

For continued and accelerated technological progress in health and agriculture, so critical for advancing the greater public good, developing countries should have capacity in technology transfer and IP management. However, technology and knowledge transfer capabilities in developing countries are still inadequate. This is somewhat paradoxical and problematic, given that there are many dynamic developing country research programs. Hence, in order to fully capture the value of IP, this glaring disparity between technological expertise and IP management capacity needs to be ameliorated. A fundamental issue is limited understanding of IP systems and how they can be properly applied to public-sector research. Also, there is generally a poor appreciation for the potential benefits of proper IP management. An underlying reason for this problem is insufficient investment, both human and financial, in institutional IP management resources.

In order to increase IP management capacity, practical training is essential. This chapter presents a few focused case studies for IP management short courses. These educational tools permit participants to play roles, broadly illustrating how their specific professional roles (in real life) can affect the complex process of “making the deal.” Even for those not involved in deal-making, this approach has great utility as it enables participants to view their respective tasks in a broader context, and thereby gain a perspective as to the challenges presented at various stages in the overall process.

Deciding upon an appropriate IP capacity building program begins with a thorough analysis of institutional goals, any recent policy changes, and required adjustments in institutional strategy. A program should fit the needs and be reasonably within the capabilities of the institution; therefore, it is important to identify weaknesses and strengths in order to take better advantage of existing organizational structures.

The next step is to identify the competencies required to accomplish the overall goals. This requires an analysis of the required proficiencies, deficiencies, and then a thorough analysis of the causes of identified deficiencies. Next, training programs should be tailored so as to address the specific needs of different staff groups: researchers, research managers, institution directors, IP managers and also operations officers. Each of these professionals has a different role in the institutional organization, and hence each will need to approach IP management within the context of their respective roles.

Ranking training goals and determining how to meet the highest priority training needs can be difficult. Nevertheless, a maxim is that a well-developed plan should have specific and realistic objectives, including measurable and achievable outcomes, and clear schedules and timeframes for all activities. Importantly, a well-developed plan should undergo regular monitoring and evaluation.

Training can be in both IP law and IP management, always keeping in mind specific institutional needs. IP law includes patent, copyright, trade secret and trademark law, and can be both domestic and international in scope. IP management deals with IP practitioners, that is, professionals who may not possess formal IP qualifications, but have working experience and some informal training in the field. IP management is the convergence of basic IP law, business and research management, and institutional policy administration. IP practitioners need to know the IP field well enough to make appropriate strategic and management decisions about the protection and exploitation of institutional IP. They serve as a bridge between the research institution and the outer world.

Given the many different types of training programs available, it is important to be able to distinguish good training opportunities from those with marginal value. Key considerations to bear in mind when planning an IP training program include: relevance to practical issues, reputation of trainers and programs, qualifications and experience of trainers, method of instruction, training environment, and training materials employed.

Of course, measurable outcomes are the real measure of whether training is successful. Short-term measures include:

• Improvements in skills performance
• Improvements in the efficiency of conducting procedures and tasks
• Showing an understanding and appreciation of performing tasks in a prescribed way

Long-term measures include:

• Increased research outputs
• More efficient resources utilized for IP management activities
• Improved financial performance of the organization
• Portfolio performance

The chapter concludes with a very useful appendix: several case-studies for short courses, each presenting a different challenging IP management scenario. These provide detailed examples on how to actually carry out a training program, and serve as useful guides, illustrating how the chapter’s broad overview of IP training can be concretely implemented. At the end of the appendix a detailed workshop plan is included, that provides meticulously comprehensive steps, from day to day, on how to implement this type of IP management short course so that it can be successfully implemented to engage, educate, and motivate participants.

Key Implications and Best Practices

Given that IP management is heavily context specific, these Key Implications and Best Practices are intended as starting points to be adapted to specific needs and circumstances.

For Government Policymakers

• Coordinated human and institutional capacity development are essential components of a national science and technology R&D strategy.
• In order to maximise the potential for science and technology development, particularly for public health and nutrition, investments in technology transfer and intellectual property management education, training, and capacity building will become increasingly essential.
• It will be necessary to clearly articulate national IP and Technology Transfer goals, determine institutional arrangements for technology transfer and intellectual property management, and address the human capacity resource needs necessary for a sustainable strategy to be implemented effectively and efficiently.

For Senior Management (university president, R&D manager, etc)

• Due to limited resources and pressing national socio-economic needs, in particular health and nutrition, there is increasing pressure on developing country science and technology institutions to prioritize their research programs.
• In order for scientific research to have an impact on national priorities, the research needs to be relevant, appropriate and most importantly, delivered to society and/or industry so that it is fully utilized for the greater good.
• Technology transfer and diffusion requires a certain set of skills and capabilities that need to be developed. Hence, human and institutional capacity should not only focus on scientific strategy and goals, but also on related research support areas including IP management and Technology Transfer.
• Short courses in IP management can effectively address short-term capacity building requirements; however this approach needs to be supplemented with a longer-term plan for the development of degree qualified staff in the areas of interest. Thus, this represents a coordinated plan, with both short and long-term objectives, directed towards integrating scientific research programs with a best-practices approach to Technology Transfer and IP management.

For Scientists

• Scientists need to be aware of institutional policies, processes and procedures for the management of IP.
• The scientist needs to be aware of those areas of IP management that are important at the various stages of research and development, starting from conceptualization of an idea to commercialisation and ultimately the sharing of royalty income.
• Throughout this technology transfer continuum, there are legal, business and regulatory processes that require input from the scientists. To optimise this interaction and to ensure that the science does not compromise, but rather facilitates effective technology transfer, scientists need to be familiar with these processes as well as with the terminology used.
• Scientists need to be aware of activities needed in order to secure IP rights to ensure that their research work is suitably evaluated for appropriate IP rights protection. Such knowledge, skills, and abilities can be obtained from appropriately structured short courses on IP management and technology transfer.

For Technology Transfer Officers

• Since intellectual property and technology transfer expertise in an institution resides in the IP Management office, this office should be responsible for driving and directing human capacity development in these areas.
• The licensing officer should put a dynamic institutional human capacity development strategy into operation. This can be achieved by:
  • documenting areas of skill deficiencies,
  • identifying suitable IP training courses,
  • planning capacity building programs,
  • providing the best training programs currently available for building the requisite skills
  • allocating resources for training thereby creating a working environment that supports human capacity development.
• It is important for the licensing officer to maximize opportunities that contribute to the development of an Institutional Human Capacity Development Strategy.