Technology Audit — A Tool for Change?

Abstract

The authors set out the benefits to a university, in terms of technology exploitation, of a detailed technology audit. Taking the example of an audit carried out at the University of Manchester, they briefly describe the methodology employed and then discuss in detail its results, the institutional barriers to technology transfer it identified, and the positive learning and actions within the University which flowed directly from it. Key conclusions relate to the importance of networking among the technology transfer offices of various higher education institutions, the establishment of a ‘one-stop shop’ for technology transfer, the ideal composition of a technology transfer unit, the importance of funding availability up to demonstration stage, the argument for making technology transfer a ‘core activity’, and the crucial involvement of the highest levels of academic management in technology transfer operations.