The genesis of inventive ideas

This book is about inventions, and the genesis of the specific inventions that I will discuss have taken place in U.S. federal laboratories. The inventions discussed in this book are defined by the technology transfer mechanism known by the term invention disclosures that refers to an aspect of the tangible results from inventive ideas in a federal laboratory. In Chapter 2, the term Inventive Ideas, which are measured in terms of the number of new invention disclosures in a federal laboratory, is described over time. In Chapter 3, empirical evidence is presented that suggests that an Experiences _ Inventive Ideas paradigm has construct validity across federal agencies. In Chapter 4, a conceptual as well as empirical explanation is offered for why some agencies are more efficient in the process of creating new inventive ideas. In Chapter 5, an enhanced knowledge production function is proposed, and evidence is offered in support of the statistical significance of the relationship: Patent Applications = G (Inventive Ideas). In Chapter 6, a case study of the Patent Applications = G (Inventive Ideas) relationship using invention disclosures information from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is discussed. In Chapter 7, CRADA (cooperative research and development agreement) activities are examined. And, in Chapter 8, a brief summary of the findings presented in this book is given.