Policies to enhance the transfer and commercialisation of public research

Within the past three decades, there has been a rise of initiatives by OECD member countries and public research organisations (PROs) to foster the transfer and commercialisation of public research results. This chapter sets out the context for the development of various initiatives, provides a taxonomy, and discusses recent trends, both at the institutional and governmental level. The strategies and policies reviewed include legislative initiatives, new bridging organisations, collaborative IP tools and patent funds, new technology transfer office (TTO) models, “open science” and “open research data” initiatives, monetary and non-monetary incentives to researchers to disclose and share research results, and initiatives to foster greater entrepreneurship in PROs.