TechLink

The results of a study undertaken to estimate the national economic impact of TechLink-brokered partnerships between the Department of Defense (DoD) and US industry from 2000-2011 have been announced. The study was initiated in January 2012 and the results announced in August.

A total of 361 companies with which TechLink has facilitated DoD technology transfer agreements between 2000 and 2011 were contacted for the study. Nearly half of these companies reported that they had sales of products or services related to the technology transfer agreements facilitated by TechLink.

Virtually all publicly funded research institutions in the United States, both universities and government laboratories, engage in technology transfer. Their overriding rationale typically is to spur economic growth, create jobs, and contribute to national economic competitiveness. Despite this, public research institutions rarely attempt to directly measure the economic impact of their technology-transfer activities. There are relatively few studies of the direct economic impacts from technology transfer.