We would like to share an important message from the Executive Director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition, Joe Allen, and his reflections on the importance of technology transfer and the privilege of being a part of a field that improves lives, upholds strong ethical values, and carries forward a legacy of innovation. See the excerpt below from the Bayh-Dole Coalition’s November newsletter, also on their website here: https://bayhdolecoalition.org/the-bayh-dole-bulletin-edition-19/
A Word from Our Executive Director
These are certainly stressful times and, unfortunately, we will face renewed threats to the Bayh-Dole system from those who question whether there is sufficient benefit in funding billions of dollars in federal R&D. That’s why we’ll be launching our “ROI Initiative” in January to showcase new facts and figures from an important study we will release demonstrating that public-private sector partnerships are essential for our well-being, economic growth, and national security. You’ll be hearing more about this shortly, but I thought the end-of-year column should focus on something we rarely discuss — why we should be grateful to be working in such an important field. Here are just a few thoughts which come to mind:
- Our success in tech transfer is directly tied to improving lives both here and around the world.
- The profession has high standards of ethical conduct.
- Our partnerships only work if both parties are successful. Many years ago, Niels Reimers (who developed the “Stanford licensing model“) told me that he always tries to ensure the other party gets at least 51% of the benefits so they want to work with him again.
- The vast majority of the time, we get to deal with people we truly like, not just tolerate.
- We get to work in an area that is truly important, though little understood.
While we’re facing many challenges, we’ve been here before. For 45 years we’ve been able to protect the Bayh-Dole system handed down to us by those in our Hall of Fame. If you’ve never done so, take a minute to read about the remarkable people whose vision established a technology transfer revolution that changed the world. I know they would be proud of the work we’re doing. They handed us the baton, which at some point we’ll pass along to the next in line. When we do so, let’s be able to say, as written in a once well-known book: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Finally, I’m most grateful to be able to work with the great people of the Bayh-Dole Coalition. We’ve accomplished a lot already — and the nation is better off as a result. That’s not a bad way to end the year.