Did you know there’s a wealth of potentially commercializable new technologies available at the nation’s 300+ federal laboratories? Yes, there are a plethora of discoveries, inventions and processes—along with the expertise of the government researchers who birthed them—just waiting for entrepreneurs and corporate officers like you to step in to further develop and deliver these technologies to the marketplace.
Tech Transfer: America’s Best Secret? When asked what I do as a consultant, I tell people I work in technology transfer and commercialization. Mostly, that gets me a polite smile and a quizzical look. It‘s a field unfamiliar to many. Few traditional educational programs include references to technology transfer. Exceptions include curricula for lawyers who
Before collaborating with government agencies, learn how they view time, risk and costs! Learn the key differences between how government (the public sector) and business (the private sector) seek to accomplish goals.
Yes, there’s government money available for all sorts of businesses! But before you pursue it, I suggest in this post learning the differences between contracts and grants. Then, assess the competitive standing of your products and / or services. You’ll also need to have in-house or outsourced infrastructure to manage government or foundation funding responsibilities and requirements. Last but not least, explore how these funding sources fit into your overall company market growth and positioning strategy.
As a grant writer, I get a lot of questions from small companies and nonprofits about obtaining government grants and contracts to help them launch. One of the first things an organization must do is to make themselves eligible to do so.