Emerging research institutions' technology transfer supply chain networks' sustainability: Budget resource planning tool development

Abstract

Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs) can benefit from patent licensing revenues from the transfer of patented technologies into the commercial marketplace because these added revenues can help research institutions become more sustainable financially. However, many ERIs struggle to succeed in technology transfer. This study describes the development of a university technology transfer supply chain network sustainability tool that private and public ERIs can use to become more self-reliant financially. Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are ERIs and are used as a case study. HBCUs lag behind their peer non-HBCUs because historically they have been under-served and were originally established largely as teaching and blue-collar trade schools. Some doctoral HBCUs desire to strengthen their research activities. Systems dynamics is the process of combining the theory, method, and philosophy necessary to analyze the behavior of a system in order to provide a common foundation that can be applied whenever it is desired to understand and influence how things change over time. Applying the systems dynamics approach, a budget resource planning tool was developed using a linear programming optimization technique. This study illustrates that classic industrial uses of linear programming optimization techniques can uniquely be used to optimize budget resource planning for sustainable HBCU supply chain networks and other emerging research institutions. This study contributes to the improved execution of technology transfer projects through better budget resource planning.