Knowledge transfer is the situation that occurs when knowledge is transferred from one part of the organization to another. As in knowledge management, knowledge transfer aims to organize, create, capture or distribute knowledge and ensure its availability to future people who use it. It is considered more than a simple communication problem. If it were only this, a simple report&action=edit&redlink=1 "Memory (document) (not yet written)"), an email or a meeting would accomplish the transfer of knowledge. The transfer of knowledge is more complex because knowledge is found in the members of the organization, in the instruments, in the tasks and in their support networks.[1]​.

There are three related concepts typical of health sciences: "knowledge utilization", "research utilization" and "implementation", which describe the process of bringing a new idea, protocol or technology in an effective and continuous manner in a healthcare center.[2]​ The study of knowledge utilization or implementation in English (KU/I) is a direct consequence of the movement in favor of evidence-based medicine and research. However, the study concludes that health care practices with proven effectiveness are not used consistently in nursing homes. Knowledge transfer also includes technology transfer, but it encompasses much more than this.

Increasingly, more advanced economies are shifting their focus from resource-based to knowledge-based production,[3]​ which is why many governments consider “knowledge” and “innovation” as significant driving forces of economic growth, social development and job creation. In this context, the promotion of “knowledge transfer” has become a topic of growing political and economic interest. The assumption of increasing collaboration between industry and universities is present in much of the literature on innovation. On the other hand, the university has been considered “the great, extraordinarily unknown and certainly underexploited resource that contributes to the creation of wealth and economic competitiveness.”[4]​.

Universities and other public sector research institutions have accumulated over the years much practical experience in transferring knowledge “across” the boundary between the public sector that produces knowledge and the private sector that exploits that knowledge. Many faculties and research centers have developed protocols and policies to ascertain, protect and exploit Intellectual Property (IP) rights. They also ensure that IP is successfully transferred to private corporations or transferred to new companies formed for its exploitation. The ways to commercialize IP, produced by faculties and public research centers, are patents, business alliances, or contracts based on rewards. Organizations such as AUTM") - The Leading Association in Technology Transfer"), in the USA, or The Institute of Knowledge Transfer") in Great Britain,[5]​ SNITTS"),[6]​ in Sweden, and the Association of European Science and Technology Transfer Professionals"), in Europe, have created a network for knowledge transfer professionals whether in the public or private sector who identify best practices and develop efficient tools and techniques for the management of Intellectual Property produced in research centers public or in virtual faculties in which Communities of Practice can be found, which originate for people involved in the transfer of knowledge and to facilitate connectivity (examples are The Global Innovation Network and the so-called Knowledge Pool) The collaboration of universities with companies was the study of the Lambert Review") in the United Kingdom, in 2003.