TÜBİTAK 1513 — formally the Teknoloji Transfer Ofisleri Destekleme Programı (Technology Transfer Office Support Program) — is Türkiye’s national funding instrument for building and sustaining technology transfer offices (TTOs) at universities and technology development zones. It is administered by TÜBİTAK, Türkiye’s national research funding council, and is the primary mechanism through which the Turkish state pays the operating costs of university commercialization infrastructure rather than leaving TTOs to fund themselves from early-stage licensing revenue that, as in most national systems, is rarely sufficient on its own in a TTO’s first years.
For research administrators outside Türkiye, 1513 is a useful comparative case: it is one of the more explicit examples of a government treating TTO formation as a capacity-building problem to be directly subsidized for up to a decade, rather than assuming institutions will self-fund transfer offices once patent policy and IP ownership rules (the approach taken in the US after the Bayh-Dole Act) are in place.
What the program funds
1513 provides non-repayable grants (hibe) directly to eligible technology transfer offices to cover the operating costs of running a professional commercialization function, not project-specific R&D. Eligible expense categories include:
- Personnel salaries for TTO staff (licensing officers, IP specialists, business development staff)
- Travel, subsistence, and accommodation for TTO activities
- Equipment, software, and publication/database subscriptions
- Outsourced services, including domestic and international consultancy and training
- Meeting, promotion, and organizational expenses
- Sworn financial consultancy (mali müşavirlik) fees and general overhead
This is a materially different funding logic than a discovery-stage or proof-of-concept fund: 1513 money pays for the office itself — the people and processes that identify disclosures, assess patentability, negotiate licenses, and manage the university’s IP portfolio — rather than for the underlying research or its early validation.
The two-phase structure
The program is structured in two sequential phases, reflecting an explicit maturity model for TTO development:
Phase 1: Institutional Capacity Building (Kurumsal Kapasite Oluşturma)
Aimed at TTOs in their early build-out. Support runs for up to five years, with an annual budget cap and a fixed support rate (TÜBİTAK covering the large majority of eligible costs — historically around 80% — with the host institution or TTO company covering the balance). The intent is to let a newly formed office hire staff and establish basic operating processes without needing to be self-sustaining from licensing income immediately.
Phase 2: Target-Oriented Growth (Hedef Odaklı Büyüme)
For TTOs that have completed Phase 1 and demonstrated basic operational capacity. The annual budget cap is higher than Phase 1, but the support rate becomes performance-linked — TÜBİTAK’s contribution scales down as the TTO’s own revenue (licensing income, service fees) and other performance indicators grow, down to a lower floor. This is the mechanism that pushes offices toward self-sufficiency over time rather than indefinite subsidy.
A single TTO can draw support across both phases for a combined maximum of roughly ten years — a long runway by international standards, reflecting how slowly technology transfer revenue typically ramps even in well-run offices, and an implicit acknowledgment that most university TTOs worldwide do not reach full self-funding on licensing income alone within a typical grant-funding cycle.
Who is eligible
Applicants are not individual researchers or companies but the transfer-office entities themselves, structured according to each call’s specific rules. Eligible applicant types generally include:
- University-affiliated TTO units
- YÖK (Turkish Higher Education Council)-approved TTO companies — Türkiye requires TTOs above a certain scale to be incorporated as companies with defined governance, not run as an informal university department
- Technology development zone (teknopark) management companies, and companies in which a teknopark management company holds a stake
A recurring eligibility gate tied to Türkiye’s broader innovation-support architecture: many 1513 calls have required that the applicant institution previously received support under TÜBİTAK’s related 1601 program (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Capacity Building Support), which funds earlier-stage entrepreneurship-ecosystem building at universities. In practice this means 1513 often functions as the next rung up from 1601 rather than a standalone entry point — an institution typically builds baseline innovation infrastructure under 1601 before qualifying for dedicated TTO operating support under 1513.
How this compares to other national TTO-funding models
Research administrators evaluating Türkiye’s approach against their own national system should note a few structural differences from the more familiar US and UK models:
- Direct operating subsidy vs. IP-ownership-first policy. The US model (post-Bayh-Dole) largely assumes universities will fund TTOs from institutional resources and licensing revenue once they hold clear title to federally funded inventions; there is no equivalent federal program that pays TTO salaries directly for a decade. Türkiye’s 1513 does exactly that.
- Explicit maturity staging. Few national programs formalize a two-phase, capacity-building-then-performance-linked funding path with a defined combined time limit the way 1513 does.
- Company-form TTOs. The YÖK-approved TTO company structure — a distinct legal entity rather than a university department — is closer to some continental European models than to the typical US in-house TTO office structure.
For a broader grounding in how TTOs function and are evaluated once funded, see how tech transfer offices evaluate and price a license and how a TTO evaluates an invention disclosure, both of which describe the operational work that programs like 1513 exist to fund.
Practical implications for research administrators
A few takeaways for anyone working with or evaluating Turkish university partners:
- A Turkish university’s TTO capacity and staffing level is a reasonable proxy for how long, and in which phase, it has held 1513 support — institutions further into their commercialization maturity typically have larger, more established offices.
- The YÖK-approval requirement for TTO companies means due diligence on a Turkish TTO partner should confirm that formal status, not just assume a university office is equivalent to a US in-house TTO.
- Because 1513 funds operations rather than specific projects, it does not itself provide proof-of-concept or gap funding for individual inventions — that sits with other TÜBİTAK instruments (notably within the 1600-series entrepreneurship and innovation programs) or with teknopark-based mechanisms.
Frequently asked questions
What does TÜBİTAK 1513 actually fund — research, or the TTO itself?
The TTO itself. 1513 grants pay for technology transfer office operating costs — staff salaries, travel, training, equipment, and consultancy — not for the underlying research projects or their technical validation. It is infrastructure funding for the commercialization function, not a research grant.
How long can a single technology transfer office receive 1513 support?
Up to roughly ten years combined across both program phases: up to five years under Phase 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) and up to five years under Phase 2 (Target-Oriented Growth), with the support rate becoming performance-linked in Phase 2.
Which organizations can apply to TÜBİTAK 1513?
University-affiliated TTO units, YÖK-approved TTO companies, and technology development zone (teknopark) management companies (or companies in which one holds a stake) — subject to the specific eligibility rules published with each call, which have often required prior participation in TÜBİTAK’s 1601 program.
Is 1513 similar to how US university TTOs are funded?
Not directly. US TTOs are typically funded from institutional overhead and licensing revenue under a Bayh-Dole-derived IP-ownership framework, without an equivalent long-running federal operating subsidy. 1513 is a direct, multi-year, government-funded operating grant model — closer to some European public technology-transfer funding schemes than to the US approach.
Program mechanics — funding caps, support rates, and phase durations — are set by TÜBİTAK and can change between calls; verify current terms against the official TÜBİTAK 1513 program page before relying on specific figures for an active application.
