What Is a Technology Transfer Office (TTO)?

If you’re working on groundbreaking science or engineering and thinking about how your research can go beyond the lab and make a real-world impact, you’re already touching on the concept of technology transfer. But what exactly does that mean? And who manages it within the labyrinth of federal research institutions?

In this guide, we’ll unpack what a Technology Transfer Office does—and why it’s central to getting federal innovations into the real world.

What Is a Technology Transfer Office (TTO)?

Caltech's Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships (OTTCP)

A Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is the hub within a federal lab, university, or research institution that manages the movement of innovations out of the lab and into the hands of companies, manufacturers, and end users. These offices handle intellectual property (IP) management, licensing, partnership agreements, and compliance for federal regulations.

At federal laboratories, TTOs are sometimes called Offices of Research and Technology Applications (ORTAs), as defined under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980. But no matter the name, the function is the same: help ensure federally funded inventions get commercialized to benefit society.

Why Do TTOs Matter?

OTL has been strategically and collaboratively working with Stanford’s researchers, entrepreneurial ecosystems

Federal labs don’t make and sell products—private industry does. And while $236 billion was spent on federal R&D in 2022 alone, the majority of that research stays locked in academic journals or lab notebooks unless someone takes the next step to translate it. That’s where Technology Transfer Offices come in.

They bridge the gap between discovery and deployment, by:

• Reviewing invention disclosures

• Filing patents and managing IP portfolios

• Facilitating licensing to private companies or startups

• Structuring Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)

• Supporting researchers in understanding their tech transfer responsibilities

A Federal Mandate: All Researchers Are Involved

Here’s something many people don’t realize: under the Stevenson-Wydler Act, technology transfer is a mission of every federal lab. That doesn’t just apply to the TTO staff. It applies to every federal researcher, scientist, and engineer.

In fact, if a lab has more than 200 technical staff, the law requires that it maintain a TTO (ORTA). This institutionalizes the idea that all researchers are expected to engage in commercialization when possible. That might mean:

• Working with the Technology Transfer Office to file a patent

• Identifying potential applications or industry partners

• Participating in a CRADA to advance a technology with outside resources

The Relationship Between Scientists, IP, and Commercialization

Tech transfer starts when a scientist identifies a novel discovery—a material, process, software, device, or method that could solve a real-world problem. From there, the TTO assesses:

• Is it new, useful, and non-obvious? (Patent criteria)

• What is the potential commercial application?

• Who are possible partners or licensees?

Once IP is secured, the TTO may license it to an existing company or support a spinout startup. In some cases, researchers stay involved as advisors; in others, they focus on future innovations while the licensee develops the product.

The Role of the TTO in Lab-to-Market

Technology Transfer Offices are not passive administrative bodies. They are strategic accelerators of federal innovation. The best TTOs proactively:

• Market technologies to potential partners

• Cultivate relationships with investors and accelerators

• Coordinate grant support, such as SBIR/STTR applications

• Help researchers avoid pitfalls in IP disclosure

• Educate stakeholders on IP, licensing, and funding readiness

Why This Matters to You

If you are an entrepreneur, a startup founder, or a business development leader in a company looking for new technologies, the TTO is your entry point to some of the most advanced R&D in the world.

Engaging with a TTO allows you to:

• License patented technologies from federal labs

• Partner on collaborative R&D

• Access unique facilities and subject matter expertise

• Get a jump-start through non-dilutive grant funding opportunities

But you must come prepared. Labs and their TTOs are increasingly under pressure to only work with external partners who have:

• A clear use case for the technology

• Capacity to advance it toward commercialization

• A viable plan to fund the effort (often through SBIR, DOE, DOD, NSF, etc.)

That’s where Grant Management Associates (GMA) comes in.

How GMA Helps

At GMA, we work with innovators, startups, and institutions to make sure their funding readiness matches the technical opportunity. Whether you're looking to license from a federal lab or deepen a CRADA partnership, we ensure you're grant-aligned, compliant, and competitive.

Want to partner with a lab? You’ll need a strong plan and funding readiness.

Start here