Potentials of the National Corn Genome Initiative

The present paper summarizes future needs in information and tools, technology, infrastructure, training, funding, and bioinformatics, to provide the genomic knowledge and tools for breeding and biotechnological goals in maize. The National Corn Genome Initiative (NCGA) has developed through actions taken by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and participation in a planning process by institutions, companies, and organizations. At the web address for the NCGI, http://www.inverizon.com/ncgi, are detailed analyses of goals and costs, impact and value, and strategy and approaches. The NCGI has also produced an informative and perceptive video suitable for public groups or schools, about agricultural contributions to life and the place of maize in these contributions. High potential can be expected, from cross-application of knowledge obtained in maize and other cereals. Development of information and tools for all crops, whether monocots or dicots, will be gained through an initiative, and each crop will be positioned to advance with cost-effective parallels, especially for expressed sequences, markers, and physical mapping.

The challenge of contracting for technological information

Contracting to provide technological information (TI) is a significant challenge. TI is an unusual commodity in five ways. (i) TI is difficult to count and value; conventional indicators, such as patents and citations, hardly indicate value. TI is often sold at different prices to different parties. (ii) To value TI, it may be necessary to “give away the secret.” This danger, despite nondisclosure agreements, inhibits efforts to market TI. (iii) To prove its value, TI is often bundled into complete products, such as a computer chip or pharmaceutical product. Efficient exchange, by contrast, would involve merely the raw information. (iv) Sellers’ superior knowledge about TI’s value make buyers wary of overpaying. (v) Inefficient contracts are often designed to secure rents from TI. For example, licensing agreements charge more than marginal cost. These contracting difficulties affect the way TI is produced, encouraging self-reliance. This should be an advantage to large firms. However, small research and development firms spend more per employee than large firms, and nonprofit universities are major producers. Networks of organizational relationships, particularly between universities and industry, are critical in transmitting TI. Implicit barter—money for guidance—is common. Property rights for TI are hard to establish. Patents, quite suitable for better mousetraps, are inadequate for an era when we design better mice. Much TI is not patented, and what is patented sets fuzzy demarcations. New organizational forms are a promising approach to contracting difficulties for TI. Webs of relationships, formal and informal, involving universities, start-up firms, corporate giants, and venture capitalists play a major role in facilitating the production and spread of TI.