Cost-Benefit Analysis of Triple Helix Technology Transfer Programs in Canada: What Counts and What Can Be Counted?

Over the past decades, university-government-industry relationships have become an important subject due to the crucial role played by technological innovation. Different public policies (tax credits, grants, institutions, etc.) have been implemented in order to improve technology transfer from universities to industries, mainly through the creation of offices, agencies and organisations devoted to technology transfer: TTOs (Bergebal-Mirabent, Sabate, & Canabate, 2012). Different policy analysts are however still questioning the impact of these TTOs and their real effectiveness and efficiency (Caldera & Debande, 2010). Among other questions, these analysts and other policy makers are asking what the net present value and what the proxy of the rate of return of the TTOs are.