Maria Theresa Norn, Ph.D. and Head of Analysis, The Think Tank DEA

What do we know about university-industry collaboration?Insights from research and policy analysis

How do firms and universities collaborate?

Education of new graduates

Dissemination of new research, techniques etc.

R&D collaborationContract researchConsulting

Staff training/exchange

Tech transfer (transfer of IP; spin-out firms)

Informal collaboration

”The tip of the iceberg”e.g. <10 pct. of all direct interaction*

Indirect & difficult to measure the value of – but important *6

Accounts for most direct interaction *2

- A two-way (not one-way) ”flow” *3

- Often based on long-lasting personal relationships *4

* Agrawal & Henderson 2002; *2 D’Este & Patel 2007; *3 e.g. Meyer-Krahmer & Schmoch 1998; *4 Bishop et al. 2010; *5 Olmos-Peñuela et al. 2014; *6 Salter & Martin 2001

For social sciences & humanities: contract research & consulting are the most frequent mechanisms *5

Teaching collaboration

Why collaborate with universities?

What can firms gain from collaboration?

Successful R&D collaboration

innovative performance *

financial performance *2

Collaboration with public research

institutions

successful product innovation *3

turnover from new products *4

E.g. * Abramovsky et al. 2008; Becker & Dietz 2004; Belderbos et al. 2003; Sampson 2007; *2 Frenz & Ietto-Gillies 2009; Gemünden et al. 1992; Laursen & Salter 2006; Love & Roper 2004; *3 Freel & Harrison 2006; Huang & Yu 2011; Robin & Schubert. 2013; *4 Belderbos et al. 2004; Lööf & Broström 2008

When are firms more likely to gain from it?

Bishop et al. 2010

Firm has high R&D intensity

University partner does high quality

research

Geographical proximity

between firm & university

When do firms collaborate with universities?

Key motivations for collaboration

A.o. Lee 2000; Hall et al. 2003; Tether 2002; Panagopoulos 2003; DEA & DI 2014 Fra forskning til innovation

• Access to funding• Insight into industry needs and inputs to research agenda• Access to industry skills & facilities• Develop / test practical applications of research• Training of young researchers, many of whom go to industry

Academia

• Stay up-to-date on research / strengthen ties to academia• Gain access to research-based knowledge and methods• Access to (international) network of researchers & students• Signal that it’s an innovative firm • Retain (academic) staff members

Firms

When do firms collaborate with universities?• When they are in industries that depend heavily on science *

• When they are big - & have more resources for long-term R&D *2

• To explore new / uncertain R&D agendas *3

• To develop new-to-market (not new-to-firm) innovations *4

• To solve specific problems that require scientific insight *5

• To do research which is far from the market (pre-competitive) *6

* Pavitt 1984; *2 Fontana et al. 2006; Mohnen & Hoareau 2003; Negassi 2004; *3 Bercovitz & Feldman 2007; Hall et al. 2003; *4 Tether 2002; *5 Piga & Vivarelli 2004; Rosenberg 1994; *6 Link & Tassey 1989; Panagopolous 2003

Often, firms do not gain what they had hoped from their collaborations with universities

What can go wrong?

Key barriers and challenges

The ”usual suspects”

Conflicts over IP BureaucracyDifferent goals Time horizons

Inspired by Bruneel et al. (2010); also draws on findings from DEA (2013, 2014)

Long-term vs.short-term

Publish vs. profitDegrees of openness

Ownership, compensation,

value of IP

On both sides?”Window of opportunity”

”Ad hoc” management of collaborations

“... companies’ collaborations with universities are often pursued in an ad hoc, piecemeal manner, led by individual initiatives rather than any corporate strategy. Managers who would never dream of leaving their customer or supplier relationships to chance may take an ad hoc approach to their university relationships…” *

* Perkmann & Salter 2012; see also DEA & DI 2014. Fra forskning til innovation

• Top level commitment? High management priority?

• Clear strategy & resources for follow-up in case of success?

• When academics are unaware of contractual obligations (i.e. re. publication, sharing of data with other researchers etc.)

• Late involvement of companies in designing joint projects

• Poor alignment of expectations prior to the project (expected outputs, division of labor, key milestones etc.)

• Insufficient validation/testing of key (academic) findings

• Lack of flexibility in project design/management

DEA 2013. Fra forskning til faktura; DEA & DI 2014. Fra forskning til innovation

What else can go wrong?

What helps?• Prior collaboration experience reduces IP/admin. conflicts *

• Trust among collaborators * - build trust and mutual insight through e.g. mobility of staff, joint training, dual affiliations etc.

• Focus on building strong relationships and (long-term) shared value: collaborate along multiple channels *, e.g. consulting & contract research, which can lead to closer collaboration **

• Reduce ”ad hoc” management of collaborations *** – e.g. involve top management from both parties in negotiations; align expectations; professional project managers etc.

* Bruneel et al. 2010; ** Perkmann & Walsh 2009; *** Perkmann & Salter 2012

Based on Perkmann & Salter 2012

Choose the right model for the goal

IDEA LAB

• Put secrecy aside to develop ideas & contacts

• To attract new partners, build relationships, and/or generate new options

• E.g. simple contracts, open calls

GRAND CHALLENGE

• Jointly create a new knowledge base to be widely shared

• To further a research agenda

• E.g. industry consortia or university centers

EXTENDED WORKBENCH

• Work rapidly on proprietary solutions

• To solve near-term problems

• E.g. consulting, contract research or student projects

DEEP EXPLORATION

• Long-term, in-depth collaboration

• To tackle fundamental challenges, access new areas of expertise etc.

• E.g. university center sponsorship, framework agreements

CONTACT DETAILS

Maria Theresa Norn

Twitter @mtnorn

E-mail mtn@dea.nu

Thank you for your attention