Category Archives: History

Behind the Usual Narrative, Part IV

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

The HEW IPA Program These distinctions become important as the NIH, led by Norman Latker, pushed in 1978 for the adoption of a template IPA agreement on a federal government-wide basis by the Government Services Administration. This effort was rebuffed by … Continue reading →

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Why not give Lee Hood an open research tab of $100m?

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Brooke Struck has written an interesting comment on Dan Sarewitz’s article “Saving Science.” Struck argues we should balance internal and external pressures to perform research. Here’s my take on it. The first part I posted to SciSP and is indented. … Continue reading →

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Behind the Usual Narrative, Part III

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Support or Purchase? In American Universities and Federal Research (1959), Charles V. Kidd underscores Bush’s concern that the federal government make a distinction between support and purchase, between subvention and procurement. Kidd cites a memorandum from General Eisenhower to the … Continue reading →

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Was Vannevar Bush So Wrong?

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Over at Science of Science Policy there’s more discussion of Vannevar Bush, this time attributing to Bush the “linear model” of innovation that asserts that basic research leads to discoveries that applied research then prepares for development into commercial products, … Continue reading →

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Behind the Usual Narrative, Part II

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Bush’s Idea Vannevar Bush’s Science the Endless Frontier argues that the federal government has a proper role to play in advancing scientific research by supporting both research and scientific education. “The Federal Government,” writes Bush, “should accept new responsibilities for … Continue reading →

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Behind the Usual Narrative, Part I

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

The Bayh-Dole Act comes about as a response to a series of situations that develop after the federal government takes an interest in supporting basic research conducted at universities. Much goes on. The usual narrative on universities and patent rights … Continue reading →

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Behind the Usual Narrative

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Starting tomorrow, Research Enterprise will feature a series of five articles looking at how the narrative formed that now dominates Bayh-Dole Act discussions. We start with Vannevar Bush’s effort to create a federal agency focused on frontier scientific research and creating an environment … Continue reading →

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Seven key documents frame university invention management

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Seven documents frame university management of inventions: Cottrell, The Research Corporation, an Experiment in Public Administration of Patent Rights (1912) Bush, Science the Endless Frontier (1945) Palmer, Survey of University Patent Policies (multiple editions from 1948 to 1962) Kennedy, Statement of … Continue reading →

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Saving Bush

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Over at the Science of Science Policy discussion group, there was a brief flurry regarding Dan Sarewitz’s article in The New Atlantis, “Saving Science.” Here is what I posted in that discussion: Militaristic research directors demanding disciplined obedience don’t appear … Continue reading →

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Common bits of faux Bayh-Dole bullshit

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Faux Bayh-Dole has been de facto federal research innovation policy now for thirty-five years. The real Bayh-Dole is sketchy enough, but the faux version is downright vile. Here are some “truths” of faux Bayh-Dole that are, in reality, simply not true. We … Continue reading →

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