Experiences from Technology Transfer Initiatives at SISU

Abstract

The institute SISU (Swedish Institute for Systems Development) was formed by the Swedish govermnet in 1984 based on the support of more than 20 organisations in business, industry and in the civic sector. SISU operated during 1985 to 2000. In this chapter we reflect on our experiences from this initiative to technology transfer in Sweden in the field of information systems development tools and methods. We are concerned with transfer of knowledge as well as of technical prototypes from academic research to product development, exploitation, and practical use in organisations. We reflect over a number of collaborative projects, national as well as EU-supported, initiated by SISU. We describe, firstly, which were the main ‘‘products’’ of technology transfer, and, secondly, which are the main factors that influence (or hinder) the success of a technology transfer initiative of this kind. The purpose of writing this chapter is to contribute to the experiences of the European Commission of successful technology transfer activities in Europe.