Industry-Laboratory Partnerships A Review of the Sandia Science and Technology Park Initiative (1999) / Chapter Skim
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III. Proceedings
III. Proceedings
Pages 27-77
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From page 29... ...
In the Small Business Innovation Research Program, in which government agencies set aside R&D funds for small businesses, the Defense Department typically has research contracts with small businesses, while the National Institutes of Health often provides research grants to small business. For an overview of Federal and state partnerships, see Christopher Coburn and Dan Bergland, Partnerships: A Compendium of State and Federal Cooperative Technology Programs.
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From page 30... ...
These are to: · examine the question of what makes regional development efforts work. This effort is of particular importance insofar as national economic development tends to occur on a regional basis, usually through the emergence of clusters of technical expertise and commercial success that support the economy as a whole.
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From page 31... ...
He wondered whether the federal labs could act as catalysts in a world where some foreign governments, such as Taiwan, clearly see an expanding role for such institutions in the commercial sphere. Referring to a February 2, 1998, speech made by Senator Bingaman at the National Research Council's "Forum on Science and Technology and Economic Productivity," Dr.
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From page 32... ...
These characteristics might include a highly skilled specialized labor force, vigorous open sources of new science and technology (e.g., research universities) , networks of local venture capitalists who understand their industries, and a well-developed physical infrastructure.
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From page 33... ...
And although there are areas in northern New Mexico that have the potential to become sticky regions, it would be hard to duplicate Silicon Valley. It is, after all, much easier to identify sticky regions than to create them.
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From page 34... ...
Pane! ~ Science and Technology Parks: An Overview of Recent Experience Moderator: Henry Kelly White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Dr.
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From page 35... ...
He suggested that the key issues might be the logic driving sticky regions and the ways in which local communities can exploit the presence of major research institutions. From this perspective, he welcomed the symposium's review of the experience of two regions, Research Triangle Park and Austin, Texas, known for their concentration of hightechnology industry and research facilities.
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From page 36... ...
; · economic development programs, which are usually measured in terms of job creation; · creators of new technology, whether or not it is associated with economic development; · tools for national economic development, as parks can act as "growth poles" (e.g., Science City in Korea) to help transform former manufacturing regions into high-technology areas such as Scotland's Silicon Glen; and · sources of net value in cost/benefit terms, based on the net present value of benefits generated by the parks.
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From page 37... ...
Luger noted, S&T parks are associated with a wide range of job growth rates. The Research Triangle Park showed the best results of all, with job growth 4.45 percent higher than control regions (a result that controlled for the impact of the business cycle on job growth)
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From page 38... ...
By 1998 the region was a locus of high-technology employment, with numerous university labs and hospitals, and with one of the highest concentrations of Ph.D.' s per capita in the country. The region also become a leader in academic research, and the brain drain of the past turned into a brain draw.
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From page 39... ...
As a result, the state economy tended to move countercyclically to that of the rest of the United States. The key early players were IBM, Motorola, Texas Instruments, and Tracor, all of which focused on manufacturing rather than R&D in the Austin area.
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From page 40... ...
The Experience in Houston Dr. Schmandt compared the Austin experience with Houston, noting that promotion of regional economic growth in Houston adopted a quite different approach.
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From page 41... ...
Feller observed, the Press Report has been interpreted as concluding that priority should be given to universities while having the national labs remain focused on their core missions. The Press Report also asserted that the national labs were not the most effective 36 National Research Council, Allocating Federal Funds for Science and Technology, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1995.
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From page 42... ...
The Role of the Labs in National S&T Policy In the context of national S&T policy, Dr. Feller stated that the national labs have clear and well-defined missions and that they have unique capabilities for performing these missions.
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From page 43... ...
Luger noted that he had not looked specifically at any links between ties to a national lab and the success of specific S&T parks. However, such links were quite common in Europe and Asia and had been the basis for a number of very successful projects.
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From page 44... ...
Luger noted that the majority of states in n the United States were not involved in strategic R&D activities, and that only 13 states have a strategic plan; S&T parks are often the result of seed capital funds developed by specific governors.
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From page 45... ...
This requires a Sandia that can absorb ideas from the private sector, which in turn requires a vision of a wider technology infrastructure, which includes "technology receptors," such as S&T parks.
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From page 46... ...
Mays suggested that the task of transferring technology from the national laboratories revolves around four key issues: .
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From page 47... ...
Dr. Narath noted that he believed the Press Report was very seriously flawed in that it did not take an in-depth look at the contributions made by the national labs.
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From page 48... ...
In recent years, Sandia has focused on science-based engineering, a direct outgrowth of its basic mission, and of growing interest to private sector partners. THE SANDIA S&T PARK PROPOSAL Dan Hartley Sandia National Laboratories Background on Sandia National Laboratories Dr.
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From page 49... ...
Dr. Hartley noted that Sandia now has approximately 300 industry partners.
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From page 50... ...
Sandia had not been trying to sell the model to its industry partners. Second, the S&T park is aimed primarily at Sandia's CRADA partners.
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From page 51... ...
However, not all CRADA activities at the national labs are very well thought out in terms of supporting the basic mission of the labs. He believed that three to four years earlier the labs had been somewhat indiscriminate in their search for partners to support the CRADA process.
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From page 52... ...
This indicates that there is likely to be a considerable amount of technology transfer, especially as Sandia's work is especially suitable for commercial application. At the same time, however, R&D in New Mexico is concentrated almost entirely in the federal labs; without them, the state would fall to almost last place among the states in R&D indicators.
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From page 53... ...
Brown considered that the critical issue is not how to create a new mission for Sandia, but how the S&T park could help Sandia fulfill whatever mission it is handed. DISCUSSION A participant noted that 23 start-up companies had already emerged out of Sandia's partnership activities, one of which has been acquired by Emcore, the New Jersey company now building in the S&T park.
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From page 54... ...
To be realistic, of course, the technology assets that attract the park occupants are the result of years of federal investment, but these assets are provided to users at full cost recovery. Similarly, Sandia's management time to participate in and lead the creation of the park is a part of Sandia's community outreach efforts, not a direct federal program charge.
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From page 55... ...
Moniz noted that the following principles have been advanced by Chuck Schenk, one of the national laboratory directors: Agreements must benefit both the government and industry. Unique lab knowledge forms the basis for successful collaborations.
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From page 56... ...
For example, in only two of seven regions studied by Rolf Sternberg were S&T parks directly related to regional economic success.39 As a result, there can be no guarantees that the Sandia S&T park will have a significant positive impact on the New Mexico economy. The seedbed criterion looked at the number of new firms created as the key metnc, Dr.
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From page 57... ...
They include: · consultants and role models, · available venture capital, · practical business assistance and contacts for international marketing, and · interfaces or gatekeepers between park firms and R&D organizations (universities or laboratories)
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From page 58... ...
Overall, there appeared to be little institutional support within the labs for spin-off companies. In Europe, research findings indicated that big national labs were incubators only when entrepreneurship, regional technology transfer, and interaction with other regional institutions were all part of normal operating procedures.
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From page 59... ...
, Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers, Science and Technology Centers, and Minority Research Centers of Excellence. Total NSF funding for the centers is about $200 million, whereas industry support amounts to about $100 million, in kind, in cash, and in personnel.
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From page 60... ...
Mr. Wellborn observed that the UNM S&T park is oriented toward encouraging students and faculty interaction with the commercial technology process, using the numerous university researchers on site at the S&T park.
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From page 61... ...
However, this approach is not practical for the UNM park, and the Sandia park could therefore fill this gap. The Importance of Venture Capital It is clear that venture capital is badly needed in New Mexico, Mr.
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From page 62... ...
Mr. Wellborn noted that the UNM park shared some interests with Sandia, for example, expanding the supply of venture capital, even though there are areas in which they competed.
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From page 63... ...
In conclusion, Mr. Der Torossian emphasized that his company's development benefited from the resources of national labs and universities such as MIT, but that working directly with his customers proved most important of all.
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From page 64... ...
Major corporations have also increased their R&D facilities abroad, at about the same speed that foreign corporations have set up units in the United States. Closer links are also developing between technology and business planning.
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From page 65... ...
Criteria for Success Mr. James suggested that the following criteria are likely to be critical for the success of industry collaboration with national labs or universities: · strategic focus; · timely research, despite partners' different time frames; · effective metrics; · value to both parties; and · intellectual property issues, which are becoming worse not better.
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From page 66... ...
In answer to a question, Mr. James noted that Procter & Gamble is more interested in accessing technical talent than in leveraging additional funding from universities or federal labs.
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From page 67... ...
In Pennsylvania, for example, the economy in some areas is being supported by old-line manufacturing companies that must adopt technology to remain competitive. How do investments in high-technology clusters around the research parks and universities help companies in more remote areas of the state economy?
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From page 68... ...
Clark McFadden Dewey Ballantine Challenges to Successful Government-Industry Partnerships Mr. McFadden noted that, in his experience, putting together significant government-industry partnerships is very difficult.
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From page 69... ...
Borrus observed. This approach is based first on a very clear vision of what the EDB wishes to accomplish inside or outside Singapore, in terms of which industries it wishes to help build, what value-added it is seeking, and which individual companies could help to accomplish these objectives.
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From page 70... ...
Borrus noted that the policy debate continually adopts a false dichotomy between small and large firms. Small firms are generally seen as more innovative than large firms.
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From page 71... ...
Identifying the right foreign partners would bring several advantages, notably complementary capabilities that local firms do not yet have. This might also help to tap broader distribution networks in foreign markets that could not otherwise be accessed.
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From page 72... ...
The agency's interests might help to define the degree of appropriate foreign access, so thinking through these interests very carefully is critically important.
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From page 73... ...
Discretionary funding is unpopular in Congress, and a one-year budget cycle is not best suited to partnerships with commercial enterprises. THE LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT OF SANDIA'S S&T PARK James Turner House Committee on Science From a congressional staff perspective, the Sandia S&T park initiative is part of a very positive trend.
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From page 74... ...
This is not nearly as helpful as the industrial model with its focus on commercialization; the Cold Warrior perspective, i.e., that the Sandia S&T park, simply because of its physical proximity to the Sandia National Laboratories, should have a national security focus; or · the DOE bureaucratic perspective, i.e., that the S&T park be assessed using metrics (e.g., CRADAs) that DOE may use in evaluating its own activities.
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From page 75... ...
Hartley noted that a recent Congressional Research Service report examining CRADAs had referenced two studies that supported the view that CRADAs contribute to the existing mission of the national labs.
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From page 76... ...
Mr. Borrus observed that spin-on, that is, how foreign participation in the Sandia park might benefit the mission of Sandia labs, would also become an important criterion.
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From page 77... ...
Dr. Hartley noted that, from his perspective, one of the tests of Sandia's success is the extent to which staff find challenging jobs beyond the lab.
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