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Government's are actively spreading knowledge.
An
important source of knowledge about advanced manufacturing technologies
resides in Canada's universities, centres of excellence, and federal
and provincial laboratories. Simultaneously, manufacturing
organizations are increasingly involved with external organizations for
research and development (R&D) related to creating or substantially
improving production equipment and / or process technology. Many firms
are balancing internal R&D competencies with the technical
expertise found in university and government laboratories. A recent
survey of the Canadian manufacturing sector found that most
manufacturers (55 percent) were engaged in R&D activities
(Sabourin, D. and Becksted, D., 1998). The same survey found that while
the preferred method for introducing advanced manufacturing
technologies into a plant is by purchasing off-the-self equipment (84
percent); significant numbers of manufacturers are customizing existing
technologies (50 percent), developing brand new technologies (29
percent), and / or licensing new technologies (18 percent).
The
use of Web-based technologies to help transfer manufacturing
technologies from government-sponsored R&D programs to the private
sector is becoming increasingly common. But the seemingly endless array
of websites related to advanced manufacturing technologies can leave
the Web user drowning in a sea of information overload. Consider that
each R&D laboratory typically supports a website. Each of these
sites can provide rich information content to the user, but this
information is typically targeted to a narrow niche within the overall
technology commercialization process.
The
end result is that there is a target audience of private sector
professionals who are ready to use the Web to interact with R&D
laboratories, but these same professionals lament that the information
found on websites is hard to find and often is of limited use. Manufacturing
professionals need a framework for understanding the overall technology
transfer process and to use this framework for finding useful Web-based
information on advanced manufacturing technologies within Canada's
R&D infrastructure.
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The U.S. government passed three major legislative acts to help transfer technology from federal labs to the private sector.
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What is Canada doing to promote tech transfer? Governments
are increasingly recognizing that improving technology transfer and
commercialization is key to an innovative economy leading to wealth
generation and job creation. The United States government passed three
major legislative acts to facilitate technology transfer from federal
laboratories to the private sector. In Europe, R&D programs such as
CORDIS have made important contributions to the development of
cooperation between public research institutes and industry across
individual member countries. In India and Korea, there have been
increased interest in issues related to the successful transfer of
government-sponsored R&D to the commercial sector.
The
Canadian government has launched several initiatives to promote the
technology transfer from the public to the private sector. The Federal
Partners in Technology Transfer (FPTT) initiative brings together
Canada's federal science-based departments and agencies involved in
technology transfer. FPTT is mandated to promote model practices,
provide leadership in technology and knowledge transfer within the
federal government, and improve on mechanisms to leverage technology
development and transfer. The Canadian Technology Network (CTN), a
division of the National Research Council's Industrial Research
Assistance Program, also gives small and medium-sized businesses access
to a wide range of technology and related business assistance through a
cross-country network of advisors. Also, Industry Canada, a department
of the federal government, seeks to improve conditions for investment,
enhance Canada's innovation performance, help make Canada the most
connected nation in the world, increase Canada's share of global trade,
and build a fair, efficient and competitive marketplace. Websites
are playing a significant role in aiding the transfer of knowledge
between Canadian government-sponsored labs and the commercial sector.
The Strategis website (http://strategis.ic.gc.ca)
was launched in 1996 by Industry Canada to provide business and
consumer information to all Canadians without the constraints of time
and geography. Strategis makes use of new technologies to offer
interactive applications such as customizable benchmarking tools, cost
calculators, and online business planning. Many of Industry Canada's
services (such as filing an application for patent) can now be
completed online. The National Research Council hosts the Integrated
Manufacturing Technologies Institute website (http:// www.nrc.ca/imti) and the Industrial Research Assistance Program website (http://www.nrc.ca/irap). Both sites are dedicated towards facilitating the flow of manufacturing knowledge to the organizations that need it. 
The technology transfer process The
transfer of manufacturing technologies to the commercial sector will
only be successful if the overall product life cycle is understood. To
take a manufactured product from concept to market requires skill,
financial resources, human resources and a quality product. Thus, a
commercial enterprise seeking to acquire, develop and sell an
externally developed technology must be successful not only in the
technology-oriented aspects of the product, but must also successfully
run the business side of the operation. Effective
manufacturing systems form a marriage of the products and processes
that comprise them. Each manufactured product is developed through a
series of processes defined by the product life cycle. The product life
cycle consists of the time from product conception to product disposal.
The life cycle includes design, prototyping, production, inspection and
all phases of the product's life. Typical stages in the product life
cycle include: concept development; prototyping; full-scale
development; production; and operations and support. The
process of technology transfer encapsulates both the product life cycle
and the necessary technical and business functions. As shown in Table
One, successful technology transfer involves three product development
phases (concept, development, and commercial) and two functions
(technical and business) central to the commercial innovation process.
Within the matrix, a total of twelve critical factors are identified
that must be accomplished to maximize the chances of successful
technology transfer. Seven
factors have been found necessary for the successful transfer of
technology: (1) fit with strategic planning; (2) sufficient proprietary
rights; (3) potential for additional proprietary rights; (4) a landmark
invention; (5) diverse market applications; (6) incentives for product
champion; and (7) required resources for product commercialization
[Wood and EerNisse, 1992]. Basic steps for the successful transfer of
technology include: the identification of a need, sourcing of the
technology, assessment of the technology, acquisition of the
technology, financing of the project, transfer of the technology,
implementation, and eventual termination. Ultimately, the
commercialization of public technology will not happen unless the
technology translates into a profitable product or process.
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The commercialization of public technology won't happen unless the technology translates into a profitable product.
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The role of the Web in technology transfer Web-based
information systems are increasingly being used to help transfer
manufacturing technologies related to rapid prototyping, production
planning and control, performance measurement, design for manufacture,
supply chain management and manufacturing simulation [Mathieu, 1996]. Hoetker
[1997] cites four challenges to international technology transfer: lack
of familiarity and contact; language differences; logistics of
communications; and cultural differences. The technology transfer
process is also communication and information intensive. New methods of
online collaboration with tools that span geographic, cultural and
technical distances are needed to accelerate technology transfer. There
is some prior research on the design of websites to aid technology
transfer. Woolgar et al. [1998] found that there is a widespread
feeling among users of the Web that the desired information is "out
there", but it was very difficult to find. The target audience of
private sector professionals is ready and willing to use the Internet
to interact with federal laboratories to learn about new technologies,
but these same professionals lament the poor quality of information
found on websites. Organizations
that promote technology transfer are information intensive.The value
chain for technology transfer consists of a series of four activities:
technology R&D; technology acceptance; technology implementation;
and technology utilization. They are connected by a set of complex
linkages between scientists, engineers, lawyers, financiers, technology
transfer specialists, and managers located in both the
government-sponsored laboratory and the private company. Technology
transfer can be viewed as a communication phenomenon which requires
"overcoming many barriers to communication encountered when individuals
use different vocabularies, have different motives, represent
organizations with widely differing cultures, and when the referents of
the transactions may vary from highly abstract concepts to concrete
products" [Williams and Gibson, 1990]. References Hoetker, G., "International Technology Transfer and the World Wide Web", Database, Vol. 20, No.3, June/July 1997. Mathieu,
R. G. , Manufacturing and the Internet, Engineering & Management
Press, Norcross, GA, 1996. Mathieu, R. B., "The Web-Enabled Transfer of
Manufacturing Technology from the Public Sector to the Private Sector",
International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Vol. 14,
No. 1, 2001 Sabourin, D. and Becksted, D., Technology Adoption in
Canadian Manufacturing, Statistics Canada, 1998. Williams,
F. and Gibson, D. V. (editors), Technology Transfer: A Communications
Perspective, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, 1990. Woolgar,
S., Vaux, J., Gomes, P., Ezingeard, J., and Grieve,R., "Abilities and
Competencies Required, Particularly by Small Firms, to Identify and
Acquire New Technology", Technovation, Vol. 18, Nos.8/9, 1998, pp.
575-584. Wood,
O. L. and EerNisse, E. P., "Technology Transfer to the Private Sector
from a Federal Laboratory", IEEE Engineering Management Review, Vol.
20, No. 1, Spring 1992. Richard
G. Mathieu is an Associate Professor of Management Information Systems
at Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Missouri. He has published
numerous articles on critical success factors in the development and
implementation of information systems. You can reach him by email at:
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