The effectiveness of policies for formal knowledge transfer from European universities and public research institutes to firms

We use survey data for 247 European universities and 40 public research organizations to investigate the effects of institutional policies on four outcomes of transfer performance (R&D agreements with companies, patent applications, licence agreements, and start-ups established). We find that the effects of policies to establish clear rules, improve transparency, and provide financial or non-financial incentives vary by outcome. Improving transparency by publishing the policies for licencing or intellectual property are often negatively correlated with outcomes, particularly for licence agreements. Out of three non-financial incentives, only social rewards have a rather positive effect (on start-ups), but financial incentives are positively correlated with several outcomes. A higher salary is positively linked to the number of research agreements and patent applications, while giving inventors a share of revenue is positively correlated with licencing and start-ups. The results suggest that the type of incentive as well as the degree of transparency of transfer policies should be chosen to complement the main transfer channels and strategy of the institution.