Government appoints head of technology transfer unit

The Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) has appointed Alison Campbell as CEO to support government attempts to commercialise £104bn in knowledge assets.

GOTT, which sits beneath the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), is responsible for working with public sector organisations to identify promising knowledge asset opportunities and provide specialist support.

Campbell, former director of Knowledge Transfer Ireland, will oversee the preparation of GOTT, which was announced around a year ago, before its launch later this year. Both GOTT and the government strategy to get more out of knowledge assets was announced after a government report on the subject, published last year.

GOTT’s role includes deriving maximum value from public sector knowledge and innovation assets, which are estimated to be worth £104bn. This includes intellectual property, software, processes and data.

Campbell has more than 20 years of experience in a career that started in the biotech industry, including time as interim CEO of the Medical Research Council’s technology transfer company (MRCT), and leading technology transfer and research support at King’s College London.

“I am delighted to take up this new role, helping to support the management of knowledge assets from across the public sector to deliver societal and economic impact,” she said.

“Here [at GOTT], we will have a strong platform to build from thanks to the significant work and delivery from the existing Knowledge Assets Team, and the engagement and support from key public sector stakeholders.”

Science minister George Freeman said British discoveries have too often been brought to market elsewhere. “[They are] often commercialised in the US, taking the expertise and financial benefits from UK research to foreign shores,” he said.

“This is why I am so pleased that Alison Campbell, a formidable leader in the field of Knowledge Transfer, is joining us to lead our excellent new Government Office for Technology Transfer, a body that will be critical to maximising UK government’s outstanding home-grown knowledge assets to benefit the country’s economy, society, and position as a global science superpower.”