Technology transfer is embodied in the actions taken by individuals and organisations.
The investment and trade decisions made by firms, acquisition of knowledge and
skills by individuals through formal education and on-the-job experience, purchase
of patent rights and licenses, assimilating the published results of public
or private research, development and demonstration (RD&D) activity, and
migration of skilled personnel with knowledge of particular technologies, all
represent different forms of technology transfer. Technology transfer can also
be influenced by government aid and financing programs, and by multilateral
bank lending. Governments can implement policies that promote R&D programmes
that address global climate change concerns in sectors such as energy, forestry,
and transportation. The role of governments is especially important for those
climate-related technologies, which are not immediately viable and profitable.
An overview of how environmental policies influence technology development and
diffusion in OECD countries describes public-private partnerships for developing
environmental technologies and policies aiming at diffusing them (OECD, 1999,
see also Section 5.6 for a more elaborate treatment of
public-private partnerships).
The rate of technology transfer is affected both by motivations that induce
more rapid adoption of new techniques and by barriers that impede such transfers.
Both types of factors can be influenced by policy. Table
1.1 shows a typology of different types of stakeholders, their motivations,
and the kinds of decisions or policies they can adopt that relate to technology
transfer. The taxonomy of stakeholders is further described in Annex
1-1, which could be a useful reference for policymakers to consult. Motivations
of the various stakeholders can differ markedly:
The decisions and policies shown in Table 1.1 represent another point of departure for thinking about barriers to technology transfer and interventions for overcoming such barriers. Each of these decisions and policies will face a set of barriers that will limit their realisation. We see throughout this Report how interventions affect the decisions and policies presented in Table 1.1. (For further reference on the link between relevant policy tools with barriers see Table 4.1 and 5.1 which also indicate the relevant sectors).
The relevant aspects of the capacity for technology choice - a true measure of the capacity to make independent decisions on sustainable development - are a separate issue, and are taken up in Chapters 3-5, while the criteria for the effectiveness of technology transfer are elaborated upon in Annex 1-2 and briefly in Chapter 6.
Table 1.1 Principal stakeholders and their decisions or policies in technology transfer | ||
Stakeholders | Motivations | Decisions or Policies that Influence Technology Transfer |
Governments
|
Development goals Environmental goals Competitive advantage Energy security |
Tax policies (including investment tax policy) Import/export policies Innovation policies Education and capacity building policies Regulations and institutional development Direct credit provision |
Private-sector business
(including producers, users, distributors, and financiers of technology) |
Profits Market share Return on investment |
Technology R&D/commercialisation decisions Marketing decisions Capital investment decisions Skills/capabilities development policies Structure for acquiring outside information Decision to transfer technology Choice of technology transfer pathway Lending/credit policies (producers, financiers) Technology selection (distributors, users) |
Donors
|
Development goals Environmental goals Return on investment |
Project selection and design criteria Investment decisions Technical assistance design and delivery Procurement requirements Conditional reform requirements |
International institutions
|
Development goals Environmental goals Policy formulation International dialogue |
Policy and technology focus Selection of participants in forums Choice of modes of information dissemination |
Research/extension
|
Basic knowledge Applied research Teaching Knowledge transfer Perceived credibility |
Research agenda Technology R&D/commercialisation decisions Decision to transfer technology Choice of pathway to transfer technology |
Media/public groups
|
Information distribution Education Collective decisions Collective welfare |
Acceptance of advertising Promotion of selected technologies Educational curricula Lobbying for technology-related policies |
Individual consumers
|
Welfare Utility Expense minimisation |
Purchase decisions Decision to learn more about a technology Selection of learning/information channels Ratings of information credibility by source |
Other reports in this collection |