December 7, 2021

A virtual peer review of the WIPO Draft Guide on Incentives for Researchers took place on December 7, 2021. The expert meeting brought together 13 specialists from different regions of the world with solid experience in the field of IP and technology transfer. The purpose of the meeting was to explore possible ways to incentivize researchers and technology transfer staff, and thereby further improve WIPO’s publication.

WIPO’s Guide on Incentives aims to provide an introduction to the world of the motivations, rewards and incentives to boost researcher engagement in technology transfer and commercialization, for the benefit of society, the institution, and the researchers themselves. The Guide describes many aspects of incentives for researchers, what they are, and how to organize them. The Guide also provides inspiring examples of incentives policies from universities and public research institutions all over the world.  

The expert meeting generated a lot of positive and enthusiast feedback from the peer reviewers, who described the guide as “outstanding” and “an eye-opener”.  Specifically, experts acknowledged that the Guide contains a broad and interesting portfolio of innumerable incentives for researchers and technology transfer staff, provides practical information and good practices, and is a valuable source for university decision-makers to help them build a solid incentives program.

In view of improving the Guide, the drafting team will further collect practical examples of both financial and non-financial incentives, elaborate promotion and tenure criteria, and address potential employment opportunities for students.

The Guide is expected to be published online in the first quarter of 2022, and will be a useful addition to WIPO’s IP Toolkit for Universities.

To watch the recording of the peer review, visit the meeting recording - https://wipo-int.zoom.us/rec/share/o2dipvoX35X_dyXxQd-s8mNR8aEfRsX_Cwb8w0OPKlPUSfvhwoTv4OFX52s3xVSX.dGH7NGrGV-Qwkqo2

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