290.   The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) created a new sector in 2021 – the IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector – that is designed to provide comprehensive support to member states and stakeholders in strengthening national innovation ecosystems. We provide support to national authorities in developing IP strategies and plans. The idea is to enable various stakeholders to leverage IP for bringing ideas to the market. We have programs that help innovators, research institutions, universities, knowledge and technology transfer organizations, incubators, and accelerators to protect and commercialize their innovations. We help start-ups and enterprises, especially small businesses, to increase their competitiveness through the use of IP, expand into new markets and utilize IP for securing capital. Our alternate dispute resolution services and support to judiciary help resolve disputes efficiently and often out of court, which saves time and money. 291.   Licensing, and disputes over licensing relate to a number of areas of the Sector's work. The following three areas may be highlighted: 292.   The IP for Innovators Department (IPID): a. The Technology Transfer Section (TTS) of WIPO supports the overall delivery by the IP for Innovators Department and contributes specifically tailormade IP licensing technical assistance for the Member states. b. The contributions include the assistance to Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs)/Universities, in the area of drafting their IP policies; the organization of trainings/online courses on IP licensing featuring world renowned experts (e.g. the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI)); the development of training materials, such as the Successful Technology Licensing Guide (STL Guide) - a user-friendly manual aimed primarily at the business community, technology managers and academia dealing with licensing in the course of their work. c. In 2022, a review/update of the STL Guide was undertaken, and is planned to be disseminated by the end of the year. The revision aims to provide additional insights into recent information and highlight new trends in licensing and technology transfer that have emerged in the post COVID-19 period, particularly in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology areas. d. More information about TTS activities can be found here: https://www.wipo.int/technology-transfer/en/index.html. 293.   The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre: a. A large part of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre (WIPO Centre)'s mediation and arbitration caseload relates to IP licensing agreements (including patents, trademarks, copyright and software), as well as Research and Development (R&D) and technology transfer agreements. Most of these cases are international in scope, and increasingly involve parties based in developing Member states. b. The WIPO centre collaborates with relevant stakeholders and organizations in the development of Model Research and Development (R&D) Agreements including WIPO Mediation and WIPO Expedited Arbitration clauses, and regularly administers cases submitted under such clauses. This includes, for example: i. European Union: DESCA 2020 Model Consortium Agreement for the European Union research funding program Horizon 2020 ii. Germany: Sample Agreements for Research and Development Cooperation by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy iii. Spain: Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) Model Agreements c. Nearly 15% of WIPO mediation and arbitration cases involve parties from the life sciences sector, including vaccines. As part of the WIPO COVID-19 Response Package, the WIPO centre has recently launched new ADR options to facilitate contract negotiation and dispute management in long-term life sciences licensing agreements and collaborations. 294.   The IP for Business Division (IPBD): The work of the IPBD in particular, relates to tools, guides and clinics: a. The IPBD develops easy to understand business-oriented tools and materials that enable small businesses and start-ups to understand the IP system and use it to support their business strategies. It's flagship series of guides is the IP for Business series of guides https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/series/index.jsp?id=181. These explain the different IP rights and how they may be identified, protected, exploited and managed. The latest in this series is a guide for start-ups taking the start up from idea to market and the intersection of IP in that journey. This is also supported by infographic that follows the contours of the guide. https://www.wipo.int/sme/en/enterprising-ideas/ b. IPBD also developed an online IP self-assessment tool https://www.wipo.int/ipdiagnostics/en/index.html which consists of two levels of questionnaires about different aspects of a business and the answer to these questions results in an automatically generated report which allows the user to get a preliminary idea as to the existence of IP assets, if they are protected and how they may be exploited. It is a preliminary step to developing an IP strategy. This tool is available in all United Nations languages and Japanese. c. Another service provided by the division is the IP Management Clinics which brings together a select number of businesses, usually from a specific sector/industry, with the goal of assisting the companies to develop their IP commercialization strategy and provide them with guidance on how to use the IP system across the various stages of their business development from concept to market.