iBRIDGE CONVERSATION

The iBridge Network is leading the North American Group of The Knowledge Vine, a networking system that has been operating very successfully since October 2006, starting in the UK, but progressively expanding to over 35 countries internationally. It is simple, powerful, informal and free.

Similar to a standard list-serve, the system is equivalent to “word of mouth”; it connects university technology transfer professionals, consultants, technology investors, patent agents, industry professionals and SME support professionals connected with commercializing intellectual property.

The Knowledge Vine is a proven, effective tool that gives professionals in this sector easy access to the experience, knowledge or contacts of others in the community. Users have been surveyed twice on the effectiveness of the system. The overwhelming response was that the relevance, quality and speed of of the replies were extremely high. Users also get great value out of seeing the questions as it encourages connections when synergies are identified:

• “I have tested the network with my first question. It is wonderful! I got 7 answers in an hour! Thanks!”
• “On the occasions I have used the network, I have found that the leads I have been given have been very useful and have come through promptly”
• “The Knowledge Vine gives a simple and easy solution.”

How it works

To use the system, users write a request in the form of a single sentence question to a central email address for the members of the group. The request email is then immediately forwarded to group members. If someone on the network has the knowledge or information you seek, they will reply directly back to you by email. When posting a request to the group, users typically receive 5-15 replies, sometimes even more, either with the information that they need, or suggesting whom they might be able to contact for the answer.

Some typical questions:

• Does anyone have a good contact for technology licensing at Philips Semiconductor?
• Does anyone have any good licensing agents/broker contacts in Taiwan or Japan?
• Does anyone have any IP for protein manufacture, as we have some IP we are looking to strengthen or bundle with?
• Does anyone have any market data or market trend information on the blood glucose testing market?
• Does anyone know a good market research specialist in teh environmental sector?

The Rules:

1. Only one sentence allowed - this forces the requester to communicate very clearly
2. The sentence must be a question
3. Only reply to the person making the request (no one else cares!)
4. No offers, promotions, or advertising

The rules make the service distinctly different and much more effective than other email and web-based tools. Because of the simplicity of the postings, the only traffic users see is occasional single sentence emails in their in-box. Because they are written in a very clear communication style they are easy and very quick to read.

How to join

You can join directly at www.TheKnowledgeVine.net - just register on the site, activate your account, and then browse and join the group. The site hosts a number of other technology-related Knowledge Vine networks, all openly accessible to you and resulting in a large set of other free knowledge resources. You can access other groups (e.g., Australasia, UK and others) simply by posting an email to the appropriate email address; you DON’T need to join other groups to get value out of them!

The North American Group is being lead by the iBridge Network, and supported by UMIP (The university of Manchester Intellectual Property Ltd).

For further information contact:

Laura Paglione
laura@iBridgeNetwork.org

Recently, we have received questions about what some believe are controversial statements from the Kauffman Foundation about its interest in expanding how universities pursue their innovation and commercialization missions. The iBridgeSM Network team thought it would be helpful to talk with Lesa Mitchell, the Foundation’s vice president of Advancing Innovation, about the Foundation’s positions. So, I, director of the iBridge Network, interviewed Lesa.

We hope the following information helps to clarify things, and we welcome your questions and observations.

Laura: Some people perceive that the Kauffman Foundation has
been negative about Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) at universities. Does the Kauffman Foundation view TTOs negatively?

Lesa: Not at all. In fact, representatives from TTOs helped shape the Foundation’s interest in university innovation when we were researching the area a few years ago and helped us identify ways in which the Kauffman Foundation could help universities, and their TTOs more specifically, do more with their research and innovations. We have worked closely with TTOs, including Kauffman Campuses, the iBridge Network, and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), to identify opportunities for universities, TTOs, and the Foundation to forward the work of advancing university innovation to make it more efficient and have an even greater impact.

For instance, the Kauffman Foundation funded AUTM for three years to encourage projects like a strategic plan, the Better World Project, and New Metrics Project. AUTM has done a great job in all of these areas. These AUTM projects seek to shine light on and encourage broader views of the outcomes of university innovation beyond a narrow focus on licensing income. Our support of these AUTM initiatives reflects the Foundation’s interest in having university research and innovation – and TTOs for that matter – valued for more than just licensing revenue.

Laura: Doesn’t the Foundation’s interest in this expanded view of technology transfer undermine the work that TTOs are doing now?

Lesa: Actually, we hope that our efforts will enhance the work of TTOs. The vast majority of the patent-licensing offices are under-resourced and under-staffed. Most also are struggling to support faculty in more ways than the traditional patent-license model, which is the model that has been thrust upon them. In reality, there are numerous models and strategies that universities should consider to maximize the usefulness of research and innovations that also advance research, grow the U.S. economy, and advance human welfare.

If our efforts with university administrations are successful and help them think outside of traditional methods, TTOs may gain more resources and staffing. TTOs also may be able to truly focus on licensing income because distractions inherent in other strategies for advancing useful, but non-revenue potential research and innovations, will be handled in other ways. Both results might be ideal and generally better than the status quo.

Laura: In fact, didn’t the iBridge Network and Web site evolve because of feedback from TTOs who wanted alternative pathways to make their university’s research and innovations more readily accessible and available?

Lesa: Absolutely. Ultimately, we believe that the iBridge Network will enable universities to move higher volumes of innovation outside of university walls to those seeking innovation in an expedited manner. With additional resources, like the iBridge Network, TTOs can do more and be more effective.

Laura: Why does the Kauffman Foundation challenge TTOs?

Lesa: The Kauffman Foundation is not intending to criticize TTOs. As mentioned a moment ago, because TTOs are under-staffed and under-resourced, they face enormous challenges and they do well handling them. What we are critical of, however, are university policies, practices, and strategies that presume that a “one-size-fits-all” approach will work or that what worked at one institution will automatically work at another or that licensing revenue is all that matters.

The Foundation aims to raise the awareness of university boards and leaders who are responsible for decisions regarding organizational structure and practices that may or may not support the goals of broadly enabling university innovation and commercialization. Our intention is to stress the importance of having organizational structures and practices that support providing multiple resources to assist in expanding the reach of innovation and outcomes –some of which will be tied to formal IP, but most will not.

Those universities who engage in technology transfer most successfully have demonstrated these insights and taught us about them. The net result is that knowledge dissemination happens every day at these institutions, and the rest of us have to work harder from the ground up and top down to reach that degree of success.

Laura: Any last thoughts based on the Kauffman Foundation’s research?

Lesa: We have been studying the U.S. environment for advancing innovation compared to the environment abroad. In the U.S., universities have many advantages, including endowments, federal research dollars, and a high level of philanthropy that are relatively non-existent in the rest of the world. These are significant advantages that should produce a substantially higher level of innovation output. We must ensure that the U.S. uses its current innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship advantages to maintain a high level of global competitiveness and grow our economy, which in the process also will advance human welfare.

It seems that models of open innovation are prevalent at leading universities outside of the U.S., and these institutions are aggressively pursuing university - industry collaborations. The leaders of our US universities need to understand this threat in the context of our global economy and educational environment so they can begin to focus on strategies around knowledge transfer that meet the various needs of research and industry. For instance, Michael Crow and his team at ASU are developing innovation strategies specifically with this in mind, as are the University of Washington engineering school and many others, including some of our Kauffman CampusSM universities. Of course, what I’ve just characterized as a “threat,” actually may really be an opportunity for additional outlets for innovation initiating from U.S. universities.

In the interests of disclosure, the Foundation is the primary funder
of the Kauffman Innovation Network, Inc. and its iBridge Network initiative.

Funny how work networks can sometimes more efficient than personal ones at getting you information that’s of interest to you. This seems counterintuitive to me - seems like those who know us best should be able to target info to us. I found out about MIT TV, and specifically a segment called Zig Zag through my connection to the Kauffman Foundation rather than as my affiliation as an MIT alum.

In any case - I thought this piece that describes how Innovation at a place like MIT manifests itself into Entrepreneurship. I encourage you to take a look at this short segment: