| Abstract |
The intensification of globalisation processes, and the development of information societies has led to the increased demand for technologies, which help organisations build and maintain their competitive advantage, both on the national as well as the international market. The transfer of technologies is beneficial for both research organisations commercialising their intellectual property, and companies in which research results are implemented. The advantages the technology transfer brings to the R&D and business sectors, therefore directly contribute to the improved level of a country's innovation performance and competitiveness. There are different approaches to technology transfer depending on the type of actors involved in this process (whether these are only business entities or whether technologies are transferred from the R&D sector to industry), and different models of technology transfer are applied. In the article the authors focus on technology transfer from a research organisation to a business enterprise. The focal point of the article are Polish PROs which, particularly those with the status of National Research Institutes, are an essential element of the Poland's National Innovation System (NIS) and play a crucial role in knowledge and technology transfer processes. Through the execution of research that is in line with the research directions specified in national and European strategic documents (i.e. Country's Development Strategy 2020 or Europe 2020), PROs contribute to the development of Poland's innovation performance and boost economic competitiveness. However, the Polish socio-economic conditions these organisations operate in, despite substantial and significant changes which have taken place in the organisation and management of knowledge and technology transfer processes, are still not fully favourable to the commercialisation of the results of research conducted at Polish research institutes. Based on literature review and the analysis of international case studies and best practices in technology transfer, the authors propose a technology transfer model for a Polish research institute. The model is based on the outcomes of the analysis of good practices conducted for, among others, the Max Plank Society, the Fraunhofer Society, the VTT, the TNO, the MIT, the Oxford University, and the ETH Zurich, but takes into consideration the unique socio-economic conditions the Polish PRO functions in. The model will be practically applied and verified at the Institute for Sustainable Technologies - National Research Institute (ITeE-PIB) in Radom, Poland on the example of Strategic Programme "Innovative Systems of Technical Support for Sustainable Development of Economy" financed from the EU structural funds in the period 2010-2015. |