TTP Workshop 1

February 25-26, 2015

Transitioning Funded Research Outcomes to Practice: Barriers, Opportunities, and Challenges

The purpose of this workshop is to identify ways to move more NSF and DHS funded research (particularly cybersecurity research) into practice. The discussion will identify the current state of the Technology Transfer to Practice (TTP) process. We will also identify factors that affect the success rate of current TTP, e.g., barriers that academic researchers face in using commercial models for transfer, specific initiatives intended to match research artifacts to existing areas of need/opportunity, and restrictions on transfer of specific types of artifacts. Including members of the numerous constituents of the current TTP community in a highly participative gathering creates an efficient feedback loop that can identify what is and is not happening in the current process, how those factors affect TTP success rates, how best to address impediments, and what changes in the existing TTP process are most likely to improve the odds of success.

This workshop is jointly funded by NSF/DHS and is organized by the University of South Alabama, where Rebecca Bace† served as workshop lead. She was Chief Strategist of the Center for Forensics, Information Technology, and Security (CFITS). Ms. Bace brought a rare range and depth of expertise to bear in leading this program. She worked in the area of IT Security research and development, venture capital, and TTP for almost three decades, with an industry-acclaimed track record for success in this area. Her experience spanned both government and commercial environments, and she advised several major initiatives elsewhere in the U.S. (specifically the CyberMaryland security incubator program, the Accelerate DC initiative and the NSF TRUST initiative.)