Technology transfer: A shortcut in danger of short circuit

At cocktail parties, in board rooms, at workstations, in classrooms, and in government offices, “technology transfer” is bandied about as if it were some natural phenomenon, a technological tsunami overwhelming everything in its path. Technology transfer, it is sometimes suggested, is an El Niño in business, government, industry, and even education decision-making, and for some it has meant disruption, dislocation, and danger. For others, technology transfer has been the vanguard of progress and an inexhaustible fountain of productivity, empowerment, and convenience. For all, “technology transfer” today is too often a personal shortcut in our communication that points to unintended meanings or implications. Just whatis “technology transfer,” anyway? To move beyond knee-jerk advocacy or damnation of technology transfer on the questionable basis of faith, and to lay out a new dimension to the definition, understanding, and acceptance of technology transfer that is clear and understandable to any layman, is the purpose of this paper. It is based on a selective yet careful web search, since the Internet World Wide Web is a principal source for information in the growing debate about public policy issues.