Making University/Industry Collaborative Research Succeed

OVERVIEW:A spirit of collaborative partnership in the pre-competitive domain is developing between basic research institutions, government and private industry. Such collaborative research programs increase the importance of the research opportunities, results and knowledge transfers between the participating companies and universities. Companies are beginning to realize the importance of collaborative research in evolving their core competencies and in making sound strategic decisions on how to best deploy their R&D resources to maintain competitive advantage. However, they must develop a structured approach to university collaborative research, and then develop this knowledge with the same determination as a product line is developed and marketed. This article presents a structure for supporting effective knowledge transfers for university/industry collaborative research programs in which the authors posit: 1) a company agent and its role in developing and supporting university/industry collaborative research programs, 2) a portfolio of distinct linkages for university/industry collaborations utilized by this agent, and 3) key indicators for the impact of knowledge transfers from these linkages.