Working with the Private Sector – Presentation from Shauna Brummet (Please use the attached presentation to follow along in the notes).
Shauna Brummet: Some of you are aware of BioHio Research Park. We’re a non-profit separate from OSU. We have directors from the university on the board as well as from industry.
We have an incubator facility where we have start up companies. The focus areas for BioHio are the same as those of the college.
The purpose of today’s meeting is working with the private sector, so in my mind, the goal of public-private partnership is to bring together technology, talent and resources.
Ohio Soybean Council, etc. are examples of producer organizations AND part of the private sector. One of the biggest things we look for is funding. It’s harder to get federal grants now. Very often we look to companies to support our R&D.
There are a lot of things a business partner can bring that we might not have here, new equipment, etc. and they can help you increase your reach.
What makes a good academic partner to the private sector?
One of the first ways a company will engage with our University is through our students and student jobs and internships or post docs.
More and more academics all over the world are reaching out to companies for sources of revenue. You need to treat the company or non-profit as a customer. If you think of yourself as a vendor, what does that company want? They want someone who understands their business, who understands product development and understands there is more that goes on after you do the basic research. They also appreciate people who understand market needs.
One of the biggest mistakes we make as a University is not valuing our people, assets, etc enough. You need to play up what you do. Our brand as a University is very strong.
We’ve got to successfully hand over the developments we make to some entity that will take it to the marketplace. It doesn’t mean making a product and selling it. Taking it to the marketplace could be our Extension, helping farmers and producers. Not everything is a product that gets sold.
Building a culture of innovation fits with our University discovery themes. We should provide processes and resources that support the activities of moving your technologies into use from very early stages. These are things that Annette and Hilary can help with. They are resources. We provide processes and help so you don’t have to do it all! But if you are intentional from the start, you will be much more ready to partner.
Innovation and invention are not the same thing.
Invention uses money and resources to create knowledge.
Innovation uses knowledge to create money and resources.
Know How is something the University can license. How you do something that may not be suitable for a patent or something you don’t want to patent because it gets into the public sector, but the knowledge of how to do something can be licensed and generate revenue.
The key assets that we bring to our partners are all of the staff and the students. These are the most of the things we have developed.
Annette Ratcliff: Who knows what TCO does?
Comment: Helping with the legal aspects of commercialization.
Annette: We handle all the intellectual property for the University. Patents, inventions, trade secrets, know hows, etc. things that aren’t patents but still valuable information.
Our office is also responsible for marketing the know hows and patents to industry partners. We help you match up with industry partners
Our primary function is to translate the research through licensing arrangements. We also support relationships with industry partners.
We also handle confidentiality agreements and material transfer agreements.
Whatever is contained in a patent becomes public knowledge. Protecting trade secrets allows this information to stay secret. At a University, we don’t typically keep things as trade secrets, but a company may have a trade secret they need to disclose to someone at the University in order for them to do research.
Patents: What is eligible for patent protection? It has to be novel, useful and non-obvious.
Non-obvious means that for someone skilled in the art, it cannot be obvious to that person. You have to overcome information that is widely known.
Public disclosure: Anything that’s in the public space can preclude you from being able to file your patents.
University routes to commercialization: We help start companies for faculty and develop companies around technology developed.
Licensing: Exclusive and non-exclusive.
TCO handles inventions so if you create something you can disclose that to us. We can tell you if it’s patentable and what commercial partners might be interested.
Confidentiality Disclosure Agreements are important when you want to talk to a colleague about your research. Under this agreement, both parties are agreeing to confidentiality, a legal way to protect the information and who has access to it. Under a CDA it is not considered publicly disclosed like a patent.
Material Transfer Agreements are important … It dictates what the ownership is and what you can do with that material, and how the value is shared.
Hilary Price: I am primarily a Development Officer, and my main goal is to bring in philanthropic support for the college. I’ve been in this role for about two years. I help the college think about our engagements with the private sector. I work mainly in the philanthropic area, but not solely. Corporations don’t just view us through the lens of philanthropy they view us as a big picture.
How I work with faculty: this takes on two primary ways…. A corporation will come to me and say they’re interested in funding research, hiring students, etc.
The other way is for faculty to come to me and let me know that they’re looking for funding, and I help them find the best way to do it. I tend to work with a wide range of private sector partners.
Ohio Soybean Council is our largest contributor to the college. They are engaged in all different levels with us.
We tend to have a good problem, in that there are endless opportunities.
I can help you think through how to raise money through private industry. I can make introductions with private industry or help float ideas, I also help with thinking about strategy. We are a good place to start. We can help provide a picture of what an organizations involvement with the college and university are.
I would encourage you to think through a philanthropic route. I view myself as a facilitator and a bridge, you are all the experts.
Question: What are the potential pitfalls of public-private partnerships?
Shauna: Not being clear in expectations and responsibilities of what OSU is expected to do.
Hilary: We’ve been accused of times at not always following through. When we’re engaging we need to set up expectations, missions, deadlines, reporting processes in place. That is incredibly important. Academia moves a little bit slower.
Annette: Communicating often and frequently helps. If you’re running behind, be upfront about the challenges you are facing. It creates trust in a partnership when you do this.
There are two other main offices on campus at the University-level that help engage: The Office of Sponsored Programs are your primary contacts.
The second office is the Industry Liaison Office. Who is the University currently engaging with and do those needs align with what you’re working with? All of our offices work closely together with one another.
Question: Regarding preparing students with an entrepreneurial skill set… Do you have recommendations on guiding students to get some of those resources?
Shauna: There is the iCORPS program, there is a commercialization class, e-innovation seminar series is great for graduate students, but undergraduates are welcome to that as well. The department of Ag Engineering is doing a hackathon this fall — TCO is working with us on that. It’s a terrific opportunity for students to work through a potential problem, develop an idea and pitch the idea to a panel of judges.
Annette: Through the TCO office there is a student coordinator who will work with students.