Technology Transfer in the Developing World: the Case of the Chile Foundation

The book balances broad-brush macro-policy issues with the nitty gritty micro-project orientation. . . . Development professionals and policy makers as well as knowledgeable laypersons, who want to make the process mutually beneficial, will find much food for thought in this book. Development Connections

Few developing countries can easily obtain the technology needed to further their socioeconomic growth. This monograph offers a behind-the-scenes analysis of a government-private sector venture--the Chile Foundation (FCh)--that has been successful in managing the transfer of technology. The author profiles numerous FCh projects, focusing on the identification, selection, and management and marketing processes guiding these enterprises. He examines decision-making, trial-and-error, and financing details. Meissner also demonstrates how feedback from performance monitoring makes it possible to apply past experiences to ongoing work. Finally, he suggests what FCh's successes--and failures--can teach other enterprises attempting similar development.

FRANK MEISSNER is an Adjunct Professor at the American University in Washington, D.C. He has held positions with the United Nations Development Program's Productivity Mission to Argentina, the Latin America Group of W.R. Grace & Co., and worked for almost two decades as a Marketing Economist with the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. He is on the editorial staff of the Journal of Global Marketing.