Dissemination of CERN's Technology Transfer

Technologies developed at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, are disseminated via a network of external technology transfer officers. Each of CERN's 20 member states has appointed at least one technology transfer officer to help establish links with CERN. This network has been in place since 2001 and early experiences indicate that the transfer processes could be improved. This paper investigates current technology transfer activities between CERN and its member states in the context of key requirements for successful transfer projects as identified in the literature. The analysis suggests that the integration of regional embedded ‘anchor organizations’, such as universities and their technology transfer offices, could overcome some of the bottlenecks that currently inhibit greater technology transfer activities between CERN and firms in its member states. The paper closes with a qualitative case study of the transfer office at Graz University of Technology.