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Canada's research policy has aimed to facilitate technology transfer from universities and induce innovation in industry for the past three decades. This article examines the policy instruments currently employed by the federal government in Canada to stimulate university-industry research linkages. First, the article examines the national landscape of industry R&D and its interface with university research. Then, multiple policy instruments are identified, and their goals and functions are examined. Finally, the article discusses the main features and implications of Canada's policy approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written about the commercialization of academic research and the role of technology transfer (TT) in mobilizing public sector science. Much of this literature maps a process of institutional isomorphism through which the norms of academy and industry are seen to grow increasingly aligned, facilitated, in part, by new organizations such as offices of technology transfer. Yet questions remain about how fulsome this process has been, with some scholars exploring concurrent processes that reinscribe boundaries and clarify important social distinctions between commercial and non-commercial ends. We report the result of a qualitative study of TT professionals in Canada to explore the complex nature of the 'renormalization' process. We argue that TT professionals solicit industry involvement but accommodate the demands of industry only in part; in turn, they solicit academic involvement by reframing the demands and priorities of commercialization along more academic lines. Ironically, by reframing the norms of commercialization, TT professionals effectively reinforce boundaries between the academy and industry and secure only a partial accommodation by academics to industrial norms. We conclude by raising questions about the meaning of traditional metrics of commercial success for innovation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is the entrepreneurial university mode that originally appeared in the US possible in China? Thirty-four universities in the '985 Project' were studied in order to address this question. It is hypothesized that the necessary internal factors for a university to be entrepreneurial are: its research, technology transfer and entrepreneurship capabilities. External factors include: government support through policies and funding, venture capital and collaborations with firms. We concluded that it is possible to achieve an entrepreneurial mode in China, though different from that in the US. As a developing country, China starts from a university-run enterprise model, forming firms within the university. These generally operate in nonhigh-tech mode to gain experience and raise capital, as well as develop research capacity, and then upgrade to a high-tech entrepreneurship mode. A few elite universities will become entrepreneurial universities within 10-20 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While policy recognises the need to facilitate university--industry technology transfer (UITT), international studies indicate that the setup and effectiveness of the associated instruments is highly context-specific. We examine the reorientation of Irish universities in the direction of facilitating UITT, with a substantive focus on the role of Ireland's technology transfer offices. This paper also questions how academic research is changing in line with policy rhetoric. We find that Irish university research and the management of its output are changing in a manner that is not incompatible with UITT, although with significant resource and skills constraints. These findings hold important lessons for national economic and innovation systems of comparable size, with a development trajectory shaped by foreign direct investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]