ABSTRACT
Universities and government-sponsored research organizations have many ways to transfer their research product to the commercial sector. The transfer process aims to generate income; disseminate and diffuse the science or technology through the research, industrial, or consumer sector; and stimulate further efforts to develop innovative intellectual property. Most major universities have formal technology-transfer offices with the mission to solicit licensing agreements from the private sector. The spin-off concept assured a hot start with an important contract granted immediately for a state-of-technology product, thereby avoiding the long period of negative cash flow that can discourage investors. Virtual organizations necessitate associations, federations, relations, agreements, and alliances, as they essentially are partnership networks of disseminated organizational entities or self-governing corporations. A step-by-step outline for creating an effective partnership begins with each potential partner determining what it wants from the partnership, that is, the objectives and the desired outcomes of signing a partnership agreement.
