Tech Transfer and STEM
University Tech Transfer Offices (TTOs) have traditionally focused on licensing patent rights to commercial companies – an example of economic impact from publicly funded research. This means that they have also tended to focus on research groups from STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). This situation has been reinforced by institutional performance metrics that have also focused on the value of licensing deals.
Knowledge Transfer and SHAPE
But in recent years, policymakers have started to emphasise the importance of broader impact, citing the need for social benefits alongside the economic ones. This has brought the Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts (SSHA) into a stronger focus for those working in knowledge transfer. The term ‘SHAPE’ is being increasingly used (Social Sciences and the Arts for People and the Economy), and the benefit to society of research from these disciplines is starting to be reflected in metrics that capture ‘impact’ from research.
The challenge of licensing from SSHA
Alongside high-quality publishable results, research from the SSHA often yields specialised survey instruments, tried and tested pedagogic materials and comprehensive databases. The associated rights, often copyrights, can be licensed and the materials used in conjunction with the high-quality research to enable further interpretation – for example, of human eating disorders, childhood bullying, and animal behaviour.
The challenge for a KT/TTO can be that these outputs are low-value assets and may even have the most impact if they are licensed under a simple CC-BY license that carries no royalties for non-commercial use. But setting up and approving a license still carries a cost for the KT/TTO. How best to balance the pressure to do commercial deals that help to cover the costs of commercialisation, while securing broader impact from publicly funded research?
How can IMPAC3T-IP provide support?
SHAPE licensing forms a part of the IMPAC3T-IP Classical Plus toolbox. To support licensing for social benefit we have brought together a cluster of tools designed for researchers and KTOs to execute licensing strategies that minimise costs and maximise impact. Working with the KTO, the researchers can take a more active role in approving and monitoring low-value deals and secure non-traditional benefits from the license. For example, they can make active knowledge feedback loops from a licensee a requirement of the licensee – a situation that mirrors the requirement to report ‘improvements’ in a commercial STEM patent license. This feedback can guide a research team with the direction of further research, research grant proposals and be used when capturing ‘impact’ for performance metrics.
To support take-up and use of SHAPE tools, the IMPAC3T-IP AcademyTM will showcase examples of how different SSAH assets have reached end users using non-classical licensing processes and guide researchers and KTOs to use the toolbox to ‘ SHAPE their own results’.
Expanding the reach of technology transfer to include SHAPE disciplines requires practical methods as well as intent. The IMPAC3T-IP toolbox and Academy provide structured ways to manage such licensing efficiently and with greater reach. Offices and researchers interested in this area can look to explore the toolbox when it releases this year and look out for forthcoming Academy workshops to see how these approaches are being applied in practice.