This chapter looks at successful knowledge transfer of products or processes from public research organizations to private sector firms for commercialization. Through six national case studies (Germany, the Republic of Korea, and the UK for high-income countries, and Brazil, China, and South Africa for middle-income countries), contextual conditions that influence success are discussed. Over time, the conceptual model behind policies to support knowledge transfer has shifted from a mode 1 linear pipeline model to a mode 3 model. In the linear model, basic research conducted by universities is followed by applied research, either by public research organizations or firms. In a mode 3 model, multiple actors – such as different types of public research organization, knowledge intermediaries such as knowledge transfer offices, and private businesses – are involved in an innovation system; there is a reverse knowledge flow whereby firms provide public research scientists with information on their needs, which influences the research projects of public research scientists. Best practice includes policy support for research and development and other innovation-related activities and incentives for firms to work closely with public sector researchers for problem solving and commercialization.

This chapter shows that implementing similar policies supporting the transfer of knowledge from public research to industry in countries with different innovation systems requires different sets of complementary policies. Drawing on six case studies, which range from high- (UK, Germany, Republic of Korea) to middle-income countries (China, Brazil, South Africa), this chapter describes the process of policy convergence and why countries might differ substantially in their approach. In high-income countries with mature national innovation systems, the adoption of Bayh-Dole-inspired legislation meant that research expected to produce patents was incentivized and preferred over other types of commercialization. The policy challenge here is to ensure all channels of knowledge transfer are appropriately nurtured. In middle-income economies, where knowledge ecosystems were less mature, the Bayh-Dole legislation resulted in a process of institutional reform, such as incentives to researchers, changing the legal structure of the university incomes and the use of public research institutes. Thus, for knowledge transfer policies to be successful, it is crucial to identify the appropriate complementary measures.