Industrial Technology Transfer: (19 NATO Science Series E:)

Technology transfer has a long history, but only recently has it become the subject of study and action. The rapid rate of scientific and technical advance in both Europe and the United States and the existence of large technology gaps among nations has brought the importance of the process into sharper focus, and has c~used technology transfer to have implications for countless aspects of both national and international develop­ ment. Technology transfer has been variously defined as: the process of information transfer between science, technology and actual utilization of scientific data and ideas, to wit: production of goods and services; the process by which science and technology are diffused throughout human activity; the transfer of research results into operations; the process by which technical information originating in one setting is adapted for use in another setting. Collectively, these and other definitions share a common theme which characterizes the process as one of bringing technology i'ilto widespread use in solving mankind's problems in the shortest practical time. The first NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) on Technology Transfer in July, 1973, brought together many of the individuals dealing with quantitative data, based on empirical research. This conference had both the advantages and disadvantages of a somewhat detached point of view. The ASI also had lectures contributed by representatives from government agencies and corporations (and a few university-based scholars) who had been active as practitioners or consultants in policy-making and organizational design for technology transfer.

Table of Contents:
I. Introduction.- World Crises: an Opportunity for Technology Transfer (Chairman’s Introduction).- Technology Transfer in the United States.- II. Quantitative and Qualitative Areas.- Empirical Approaches to Understanding Transfer Processes in Technological Change: Report on a Workshop.- Development and Implications of a Technique for Quantifying Technology.- Technology Transfer in the British Textile Industry.- The Critical Role of Communication in Technology Transfer.- Regulatory Barriers to Technological Innovation: Some Examples.- III. Public Technology.- Remote Sensing Technology Transfer to the Public Sector.- Accelerating Reform in the Courts through Technology Transfer.- Organizing U.S. State and Local Governments to Capture the Benefits of R&D.- Technology Transfer: Expanded Uses of Federal Laboratories.- Transfer of Military Technology to Civilian Needs.- European Views on the Transfer of Technology from Military to Civil Uses.- Technology Transfer from the Defense to the Civilian Sector in Israel: Methodology and Findings.- IV. International Technology Transfer.- People’s Republic of China’s Purchases of Industrial Plants from Japan.- U.S. Corporate Experience in Transferring Industrial Technology to the Soviet Bloc.- Barriers to the Transfer of Military Systems Technology to the United States.- Nuclear Energy Technology Transfer: the Security Barriers.- European Community Policies and Programmes Favouring Technology Transfer.- Assessing Effects of International Technology Transfer on the U.S. Economy.- V. Multinational Technology Transfer.- Technology Transfer in a Multinational Firm.- The Role of Technology in Development.- How to Obtain Foreign Technology at Minimum Cost, or Free.- An Evaluation of Technology Transfer in Under-Developed Countries.-VI. Summary, Synthesis and Review.- Summary.