Knowledge transfer and economic development: The role of the engaged university in the twenty-first century

Abstract

Mark Crowell discusses the function of the association of University technology Managers (AUTM), an international organization with about 3,500 members. Mirror­ing the global economy, 25% of the membership is outside North America and growing at 2½ times the rate of the US group. The AUTM’s Better World Project is an attempt to show the impact of public-sector research that is not necessarily reflected in terms of licenses, patents and revenue. Twenty-five in-depth stories of university innovation have been collated demonstrating impact regardless of financial implications. A companion piece, Reports from the Field, contains a hundred similar stories in vignette form. These reports are being sent to all members of Congress and to agencies in Washington, DC, to promote understanding of the important roles academic research and technology transfer play in making our world a better place in which to live.