Kenneth William Lievers, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Leadership Award

Kenneth William Lievers, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

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In recognition of the outstanding contribution to both the practice of technology transfer and commercialization and to the development of a culture of innovation, and technology transfer in federal government.

Kenneth William Lievers
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The trademark of a leader who motivates others in the exacting art of technology transfer is one who combines a willingness to share experience with the wisdom to try new ideas. Described by colleagues at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) as the "godfather" of technology transfer, Kenneth Lievers has played a central role in the evolution of the sprawling federal department as it broadened its primary mandate of serving the public good to encompass the revenue-generating imperatives of commercialization. Much of the strategic focus required to support that profound shift in culture originated with Mr. Lievers, who after 32 years in AAFC's research branch and, more recently, as senior commercialization officer based in the Lethbridge Research Centre, is considered to be the 'corporate memory' of AAFC.

Working easily and comfortably with clients within and outside government, Mr. Lievers has mentored a new generation of commercialization officers, who gravitate to him as much for his enthusiasm for fresh approaches as they do for his advice and guidance. Those assets transcend the confines of AAFC's largest research centre, or even the department itself. Indeed, colleagues say that his impact on the way that technology is transferred to the private realm is felt throughout the entire Government.

In many ways, the path of Mr. Lievers' career at AAFC coincides with three distinct periods of fundamental change involving policy development and a realignment of administrative priorities within the department. When the University of Alberta graduate (B.Sc., 1968; M.Sc. in agricultural mechanisation, 1971) joined the public service as a systems engineer in 1970, the department, then known as Agriculture Canada, was a self-contained research entity that had limited interaction with the private sector. Responsible for the analysis and design of various agricultural systems, Mr. Lievers' work mirrored the issues of the day — many models he co-developed, such as forage — livestock and dryland grain production systems-were used for many years.

The scope of federal research changed dramatically in the mid-1980s when science-based departments and agencies began the complex task of transferring technologies and services developed in or by their laboratories to commercial markets. At Agriculture, Mr. Lievers was integral to the creation in 1987 of the Research Branch's Industry Relations Office, a team that set about to build the framework required for the accelerated co-development, licensing and transfer of agri-food technology to industry. A member of the Interdepartmental IRAP-R Committee to review multi-year research projects, Mr. Lievers also coordinated efforts within his own department to locate and match R&D experts and entrepreneurs as well as to develop project management systems and negotiating strategies for the transfer of intellectual property.

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