Transferring technology toward the European assistive technology industry: mechanisms and implications

This paper considers the need, conditions and mechanisms for successful technology transfer toward the European assistive technology industry. The discussion reveals the role of nonprofit institutions in initiating and sustaining a reasonable level of technology transfer since the industry is not likely to achieve this by itself. In particular, it is argued that, given the impediments to successful technology transfer discussed in the paper, there is a need for an organizational entity to assess the needs of the industry, evaluate alternative potential sources of technology based on their relative merits and synergies, coordinate sources and recipients, and provide a minimum infrastructure for such transfers to materialize. To this effect, general mechanisms for transferring technology from one place to another are reviewed and criteria are introduced depicting a tentative evaluation of each of the mechanisms being considered with regard to its contributions toward design for all.