Winning Through Partnerships: The New R&D Advantage

R&D Collaboration Spotlight

How Innovation Leaders Use Tech Transfer to Accelerate R&D Wins

New products and services fuel growth, but the path from idea to profit can be full of obstacles. That’s why many innovation leaders rely on outside partners to overcome roadblocks and accelerate commercialization.

Research shows companies face numerous R&D challenges, according to the latest R&D Innovation Performance Study from TechLink.

Top Three R&D Challenges

30%

Budget
Constraints

21%

Lack of Leadership
Commitment

19%

Lack of Innovation
Skills/Experience

Collaborators Are Leaders

At the same time, the study finds more companies are collaborating with government laboratories, colleges, and universities to drive R&D.

57%

of companies that frequently collaborate with government labs describe themselves as

innovation leaders

R&D Collaboration on the Rise

The percentage of companies that frequently collaborate with government labs and universities to develop new products and services is increasing.

2022

2024

Government
Laboratories

35%

38%

Colleges and
Universities

20%

22%

Discover additional actions that impact R&D results.

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How Government Labs Improve R&D Efforts

Government labs offset R&D challenges by offering existing technologies in IT hardware, software, biomedical, and advanced materials that businesses can license and bring to market.

Organizations like TechLink work alongside federal laboratories to provide free services to companies interested in licensing and commercializing government inventions.

TechLink, the longstanding technology transfer partner for the U.S. Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs, has been helping companies find, evaluate, and license technologies to accelerate R&D and products/services for more than 25 years.

Study findings make one thing clear: working with government labs pays off. Companies that occasionally or frequently collaborate with government labs on R&D projects post better performance for nearly all metrics tracked by the study, based on a survey of managers and executives from companies in more than a dozen industries, with annual revenues ranging from less than $1 million to more than $1 billion.

Collaboration with Government Labs =
Better R&D Performance

% of companies

More than half of projects result in sales to customers

13%

28%

More than half of projects achieve projected sales targets

24%

37%

More than a quarter of projects result in new ideas or competencies that can be used to create additional new products and services

47%

79%

Rarely or Never Collaborate

Occasionally or Frequently Collaborate

Dig into the details.

Download the study

How to Access Available Innovations

Another reason more companies are seeking government lab partnerships is the vast number of available innovations. TechLink features more than 7,000 ideas available for commercial application in its marketplace. Technologies span 10 categories including software, medical, material, environmental, photonics, military, and more.

Technology Benefits

Shelf-ready technologies that can be produced and marketed almost immediately.
Technologies address critical material or component gaps that might otherwise keep product or service stuck in development.
Intellectual property or knowledge that closes gaps and move viable R&D projects forward.

Since 1999, TechLink has brokered more than 2,000 agreements between federal labs and U.S. companies to move brilliant ideas from minds to markets. Find out how companies like yours found success collaborating with the government to launch their company to new heights.

READ ALL CASE STUDIES

Thanks for your interest in the R&D Collaboration Spotlight

The Collaboration Spotlight is informed by the TechLink R&D Innovation Performance Study. Please provide the following information to access the full study.

TechLink provides assistance to companies interested in collaborating with federal laboratories, including identifying optimal technologies for their markets, communicating with laboratory staff, and supporting cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs). Our services, including guidance on the application and licensing process, are offered at no-cost to businesses.

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