TTO configuration and tasks in Europe, a geographical perspective

To improve the EU's competitive position in the world economy, it is focussing on technology transfer and innovation. Based on its own reporting, however, it becomes clear that not all regions are currently as innovative as the EU would like them to be. With this is mind, this study aims at finding out the differences in technology transfer office affiliations and operations from a geographical perspective. We studied 51 TTOs from 20 countries and divided them into five geographical regions of the European continent. TTO affiliation, organisational structure, responsibilities and tasks were studied, in order to find out if regional differences were present. We were able to identify certain trends in TTO affiliation and organisational structure, and found out that TTO responsibilities and tasks do differ from region to region.