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OCR for page 242
242 TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND GERMANY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compared with other large industrialized countries, Germany supports a high
level of research and development (R&D) activity in relation to its gross domes-
tic product (GDP). Indeed, as a percentage of GDP, German investment in R&D
is comparable to that of the United States.
A major distinguishing characteristic of the German R&D system is the ex-
istence of a broad variety of public and semipublic research institutions that
complement and bridge the R&D activities of industry and universities. The most
important of these institutions are the Fraunhofer Society (Fraunhofer-Gesell-
schaft [FhG]), the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft [MPG]), the
Helmholtz Centers (formerly called Gro/3forschungseinrichtungen [GFEs]), and
the Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF). These institutions have
different missions, different research focuses, and vary significantly with respect
to the scope and conduct of their technology transfer activities. The participation
of universities and other noncommercial research institutions in technology trans-
fer to industry also varies greatly with respect to the four focal areas of this study:
production technology (manufacturing), microelectronics, information technol-
ogy, and biotechnology.
German universities' major channels of technology transfer to industry are
collaborative and contract research, consultancy, informal contacts, conferences,
and the provision of qualified personnel. Scientific publications are intensively
used, but prove to be a less effective channel of technology transfer. In contrast to
U.S. universities, the temporary transfer of personnel is rarely practiced in Ger-
many. Another effective transfer channel for German universities is external
institutions such as technology centers and particularly An-Institutes (Institute an
der Universitat; literally, institutes at the university). In the last 15 years, univer-
sity efforts to further technology transfer have increased considerably and have
reached a generally satisfying level. This assessment applies also to the transfer
activities in the four focal areas. In software and especially in biotechnology, the
volume of industry contacts is suboptimal, which partly reflects the lack of a
sufficient number of competitive German enterprises in these areas. A new legal
and institutional framework will be necessary to improve exploitation of patents
at universities.
The FhG is the principal German noncommercial organization conducting
industry-oriented applied research. Unlike other German public research institu-
tions, which rely almost exclusively on institutional funding to support their re-
search, the FhG's budget includes only 20 to 30 percent public institutional fund-
ing. Moreover, the amount of funding is linked directly to the FhG's success
doing contract research for public and particularly private clients. Therefore, the
FhG's research orientation is largely demand driven. The close relationship be-
tween the FhG and German universities is institutionalized through the appoint-
ment of FhG directors as regular university professors. Thus, the FhG is a real
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TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN GERMANY
243
bridging institution between academic and industrial research. The future suc-
cess of the FhG model depends decisively on an appropriate balance between, on
the one hand, institutional funds and public-sponsored projects to build up an
adequate level of research competence, and, on the other hand, private contracts
to maintain the orientation toward industrial needs and to perform effective tech-
nology transfer. Except in biotechnology research, the FhG has a strong presence
in the four focal areas, with special strengths in microelectronics and production
technology.
Complementary to German universities, the MPG is the major institution
performing outstanding basic and long-term applied research. MPG's main areas
of focus are physics, biology, and chemistry. Many Max Planck institutes per-
form research in areas of strategic interest to industry. The most important chan-
nel of knowledge transfer is the exchange of scientific personnel. However, col-
laborative research with industry plays a modest but increasing role. Up to now,
the intensity of contacts with industry has depended primarily on the willingness
and interest of individual MPG scientists. With declining public funding, the
usefulness and achievements of the MPG have to be proved, and the society has
to approach technology transfer more actively.
Helmholtz Centers conduct primarily research on long-term problems entail-
ing considerable economic risks in areas of public welfare and in fields requiring
large investments. Besides the classic instrument of scientific publications, the
major mechanisms of technology transfer are the participation of industry in ad-
visory boards and committees, and collaborative research uniting industry and
the centers on large projects or programs. The centers are funded primarily with
public money, but industry and the federal government are striving to increase the
share of industrially relevant research these centers conduct. This can be achieved
by reducing institutional funds in favor of project support and broader participa-
tion of industry in the centers' research planning procedures. It is not clear to
what extent these different measures suggested will be implemented. In any case,
the centers will go through a process of considerable structural change within the
next few years.
The institutes of the Blue List and the departmental research institutes carry
out numerous research activities, mostly in basic research or applied research
directed at the needs of state and federal government departments. Only a few
institutes in this group have close relations with industry and perform technology
transfer.
Cooperative research within the framework of industrial research associa-
tions has proved to be an effective instrument for performing projects that ex-
ceed the capacity of individual small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The
associations and their umbrella organization, AiF, have implemented an inten-
sive collective evaluation procedure that guarantees effective selection of appro-
priate research projects. Those companies that are directly involved in the defi-
nition and supervision of projects benefit most from the results of cooperative
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244 TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND GERMANY
research. Technology transfer to other member companies is limited, although
many measures are undertaken to promote such activity. A major restriction of
cooperative industrial research is its limitation to precompetitive problems, since
several companies in the same industry have to cooperate. In some less-re-
search-intensive industries, the share of cooperative research compared with their
total R&D activities is quite large. However, in research-intensive industries
like chemicals, electrical engineering, and aeronautics, the role of cooperative
research is negligible.
Up to now, the volume of research activities of the European Union (KU) has
been relatively limited compared with the activities of individual countries. How-
ever, the importance of EU funding is growing. Special initiatives are focusing
on strategic areas in an effort to enhance European competitiveness. In areas
such as biotechnology and information technology, the impact of EU-funded re-
search is considerable. A characteristic of EU policy is a top-down approach to
setting a research agenda through the use of so-called framework programs. In-
ternational collaboration between industrial enterprises and research institutions
is required, thus technology transfer is facilitated. In contrast, the so-called EU-
REKA initiative is independent of the framework programs of the European Com-
mission. It has no framework concept, follows a bottom-up approach to setting
research priorities, and pursues market-oriented research. Major areas of activity
are biotechnology and, in particular, information technology. The EUREKA
project JESSI (Joint European Submicron Silicon Initiative) contributes consid-
erably to the international competitiveness of European industry in the fields of
microelectronics, high-definition television, digital audio broadcasting, and other
communication and information technologies.
Regarding the four focal areas, industrial R&D activities in Germany are
focused on various fields of mechanical engineering. Industry gives less R&D
attention to microelectronics, information technology, and biotechnology. In this
respect, the German profile is almost the opposite of the American one. Only in
the area of chemistry do the R&D activities of the two countries have similar
structures and show positive specialization indexes.
Technology transfer to SMEs is realized through various channels. One im-
portant channel is through R&D cooperation with other companies (primarily
customers of SMEs), consulting engineers, universities, and other research insti-
tutions. About half of all German SMEs that perform R&D use this channel.
There is, however, considerable potential for increasing R&D collaboration be-
tween SMEs and other research institutions, particularly universities. In addition,
SMEs profit from a dense network of non-A&D-performing institutions, the re-
sult of a high level of industrial self-organization. The Chambers of Industry and
Commerce, industrial associations, and other institutions effectively support the
diffusion of technology and know-how, particularly in technologically mature
industries, through innovation-oriented consultancy and by organizing knowl-
edge exchange among firms through journals, meetings, and informal networks.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
centers conduct
