Towards a Robust, Coordinated and Effective System of Technology and Knowledge Transfer in Transportation Research

Technology and know-how transfer encompasses policies, practices and activities needed to facilitate the adoption of products or procedures by a user or group of users. Transfer of know-how produced by research and innovation activities is a means to directly affect improvements to the transportation system, leverage resources and maximize return on valuable research investments. The lack of robust, coordinated systems of technology and knowledge transfer leads to a waste of research dollars, and undermines the enterprise of research and innovation. Mainstreaming of research products and promoting their use is critical. While there is a huge body of literature on technology transfer, in the transportation fileld and in other disciplines, the shift to collaborative governance as a paradigm of leadership create new opportunities for significantly strengthening transfer of technologies and know-how across and within national borders.