Managing a technology transfer office (TTO) requires strong administrative, technical, and communication skills. To make informed decisions, a tremendous diversity of information needs to be captured and analyzed. A TTO’s ability to handle this information is complicated by how rapidly new information becomes available. Moreover, the average academic TTO usually has limited funds and staff with which to create such a sophisticated data management system.

This e-book chapter was written by Inteum Company CEO, Rob Sloman, in 2007, appearing in “Intellectual Property Management in Health and Agricultural Innovation: A Handbook of Best Practices“. Many of the insights are still applicable for TTO’s in today’s environment.