Industry-University Research Collaborations: Report of a Workshop (1997)

The cosponsors of the workshop solicited proposals from member companies of the IRI that sponsor research at universities, to present as cases studies. Four proposals were selected to represent a diverse group of partnerships.

Hoechst-Celanese-Rutgers University-North Carolina State University-University of North Carolina Chapel Hill: Targeted partnerships were established as an experiment to determine if the company could conduct a significant portion of its discovery research externally, and whether this process would be beneficial to the partner universities.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Laboratory: This laboratory includes research that extends into a broad range of new information technologies. It attracts a high proportion of corporate funding relative to many university laboratories. Corporations (including Philips, Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment, Hearst, Pulitzer Publishing, and others) support and participate in the Laboratory's programs through a variety of sponsorship agreements.

Cabot Corporation-Pennsylvania State University-Pennsylvania-Ben Franklin Partnership: This joint industry/university/state project has played a major role in Cabot's significant progress toward becoming a supplier of fine particle barium titanate.

University of Rochester Center for Electronic Imaging Systems: The central thrust of research at the Center, which is based at the University of Rochester and includes the participation of scientists from the Rochester Institute of Technology, is "imaging in the information age." The long-term vision of its founders is to develop a leading national center for all phases of electronic imaging systems. The Center serves a diverse customer base that includes its corporate sponsors, the University of Rochester

and Rochester Institute of Technology, and the State of New York.

During the workshop, case presentations were made by representatives of the partnering organizations, each of whom were asked to address the following, standard set of questions:

What were each partner's motivations in entering into the partnership? What were the expected outcomes? What were the primary concerns in arranging the partnership? What were the major impediments to establishing the partnership and to implementing it? What has been the most surprising aspect of the partnership as it has evolved?

What is the relative amount of applied and basic research attempted or accomplished by the partnership? How does this research differ from that conducted by individual investigators under government sponsorship? Industrial researchers often express concern that the nation's basic research capacity is being eroded; does this industry-sponsored research correct or exacerbate that trend? How do partnerships that originate with industry differ from those whose impetus comes from universities seeking matching support from industry for government grants?

How is the success of the partnership evaluated? What measures are in place to ensure adequate transfer of knowledge among the parties to the partnership? Describe the processes for both critical decision making and conflict resolution that have been established for the partnership. How important is physical proximity, or actual presence on campus, to the success of this venture? How important is the exchange of personnel between members of the university and of the industry lab? How has such exchange been accomplished?

What roles do graduate students play in the collaboration? How have concerns about graduate students—including project continuity, confidentiality, the students' need to publish—affected the structure of the partnership? Can partnerships lead to broader changes in the curriculum and educational approach universities take toward undergraduate and graduate education?