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Technology Transfer

In 2007, the Kauffman Foundation ranked Idaho 6th in "Innovation Capacity," but only 38th in "Venture Capital Investment".  Hence, while Idahoans are inventing and advancing innovative ideas, they are not easily taking those innovations to market.

The transfer of these innovative ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace is a complex endeavor that depends on the cooperation of many individuals and institutions.

Steps include intellectual property vetting, protection, and commercialization to the global marketplace. When an invention is commercialized under license to a company, a number of benefits may flow to the inventor, the laboratory, and the institution. These can include royalty income, research support, recruiting of students, and consulting arrangements, not to mention unique opportunities for collaboration. The institutions developing the technology are also able to collect revenues generated as a result of licensing fees and royalties from the development of the new product or process.

The impact from investments in technology transfer are not solely limited to the industry sectors (and their regional input providers) utilizing the new technology, but can create new business opportunities and additional jobs.

Idaho's Regional Research Institutions:

The institutions listed above are in addition to many other smaller R&D facilities.

These institutions are ripe with innovative new technology – sometimes technologies that diverge from the institution’s specific business model – that can drive potential business development and technology-transfer ventures and create additional revenue streams.