Industry seeking university

The emergence of strategic public-private research partnerships

How the science system works

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Large enterprises around the world are increasingly seeking to cooperate with carefully selected universities, for example in joint labs and research centres. Dutch universities are following this trend and are successfully locking in global firms worldwide.

All parties are still learning how best to organize this kind of cooperation. This report is an analysis based on literature review, case studies and meetings with experts and stakeholders.

Authors

Large enterprises around the world are increasingly seeking to cooperate with carefully selected universities, for example in joint labs and research centres. Dutch universities are following this trend and are successfully locking in global firms worldwide.

Own priorities

This new form of partnership offers strategic advantages for both the university and the firm, but it also raises new questions. The university and the firm each has its own priorities. The strategic partnership is a new phenomenon and all parties are still learning how to organise it successfully. Now is the time for them, and government, to reflect on the potential consequences of the choices they must make regarding the partnership.

For universities, strategic partnerships represent a way to conduct high-level research and to attract and retain talented researchers. The partnership may also make their research more economically relevant. At the same time, such partnerships help to maintain the Netherlands’ appeal as a knowledge hub; they attract R&D investment in our knowledge economy by offering investors knowledge rather than tax benefits. The firms, often multinationals, are first in line, so to speak, and have better access to public knowledge and researchers than other parties, such as SMEs. Strategic partnerships can lead to the unwelcome outflow of knowledge and talent abroad. Another important question is what role large enterprises are assigned in setting public research agendas.

This report is based on a study of the literature, three case studies (Chemelot InSciTe, DELTA Lab and ARCNL) and interviews with experts and stakeholders.

Preferred citation:
Tjong Tjin Tai, S.Y., J. van den Broek, T. Maas, T. Rep and J. Deuten (2018). Industry seeking university – The emergence of strategic public-private research partnerships. The Hague: Rathenau Instituut

 

All sorts of public and private interests converge in strategic partnerships: the interests of researchers and their organisations, of industrial R&D professionals and their organisations, and of policymakers in various domains and tiers of government. They all want to leverage these partnerships in their own interests, but now is the time for them to reflect together on how such partnerships can be undertaken in a responsible, well-considered manner. That means that all the parties involved must take the differing interests into account.

Strategic partnerships are still in the throes of development. By thinking carefully about them now, we will be spared unwanted consequences later.

It is in the public interest to develop an assessment framework that acknowledges the various interests involved. It can offer guidance when deciding which strategic partnerships are or are not appropriate and subject to which conditions. A sound assessment framework should in any event address the following issues:

  • How does a strategic partnership impact the access to public knowledge and researchers of firms outside the partnership?
  • How does a strategic partnership impact research agendas and the balance between the various academic, societal and economic agendas that mobilise science?
  • Geopolitical considerations. Knowledge generation and technological advances are pawns in the battle for economic and military power. Does a strategic partnership help to strengthen the regional / Dutch / European economy or does it boost the economy of global competitors? Is it contributing to the outflow of knowledge and (top-class) researchers to other countries, or is it actually bringing about an influx of knowledge and talent?
  • How does a strategic partnership fit in with the university’s long-term perspective on the knowledge institution that it wants to be for stakeholders (and which ones)? How does it fit in with the government’s long-term outlook on the Dutch research and science system?
  • How does a strategic partnership tie in with the regional development strategy? How does a strategic partnership impact the dynamism and vitality of regional ecosystems for R&D and innovation?

Frequently Asked Questions

This report concerns the recent emergence of strategic public-private research partnerships between universities and industry. Strategic partnerships give firms and universities new options. At the same time, they also raise all sorts of new questions, both for those directly involved (how can we organise the partnership in an effective and responsible manner?) and for universities (who do we serve?), governments (stimulate, facilitate, restrict?) and society as a whole. The report explores the implications for science, innovation and regional policy.

The phenomenon of strategic partnerships is still in its infancy and in the throes of development. Such partnerships open up new opportunities for Dutch science because they broaden the scope of student and PhD training and allow researchers to undertake high-level research. At the same time, they help to maintain the Netherlands’ appeal as a knowledge hub; they attract R&D investment in our knowledge economy by offering investors knowledge rather than tax benefits.

The emergence of strategic partnerships also raises new questions and entails new trade-offs, for example about the level of influence that large enterprises have on research agendas. Can we still say that there is a ‘level playing field’ if large enterprises have access to innovative knowledge but SMEs, for example, do not? Will such partnerships lead to an unwelcome ‘brain drain’? The purpose of the report is to gain more insight into the phenomenon and its potential impact on universities and their relationships with industry. Such insight can help politicians, policymakers and other decision-makers to respond more effectively to this trend.

Strategic partnerships allow firms to become closely involved in scientific research and to work with leading researchers. They represent an attractive alternative to in-house research (too expensive and risky), contract research (too specific) and to undertaking a series of separate joint projects with varying partners (too piecemeal). Strategic partnerships give universities a way to attract and retain talented researchers and to conduct high-level research for which funding would otherwise be unavailable. They are interesting to researchers because they give them access to a firm’s knowledge and expertise, data and facilities, thereby making their research more relevant to society. At the same time, however, firms and universities must strike the right balance between academic and commercial interests.

 

The report is based in part on three case studies (Chemelot InSciTe, DELTA Lab and ARCNL). What they have made clear is that strategic partnerships are bespoke affairs. The specific format chosen by the partners depends on their precise intentions and what they can offer each other. Another important factor is how national or regional government is involved in the partnership, as a funding body or even as a partner. What sets strategic partnerships apart from other forms of cooperation is that the partners must be prepared to invest in the relationship and to narrow and bridge the inevitable gap between the world of academia and the commercial world. This not only means maximising geographical proximity (co-location, frequent visits), but also cognitive proximity (shared knowledge base), organisational proximity (hybrid organisational culture) and social proximity (good relationships and shared networks).

We also see that strategic partnerships are not easy and make demands on both parties: they must get to know each other’s interests/missions/cultures, invest time and energy in the relationship, monitor the public task of universities, and so on. In practical terms, they must find a new of working that supports both academic and commercial interests.

Strategic partnerships affect not only the university research groups and industry researchers directly involved, but also their organisations and the wider society. All manner of interests converge in a strategic partnership. At this stage, stakeholders are developing their own methods in an effort to shape their strategic partnerships. Each partnership is unique, but it is in the public interest for stakeholders to join together to reflect, learn from one another, and make responsible choices when entering into and shaping strategic partnerships. An overall assessment framework can help them in this by offering guidance as they decide which strategic partnerships are or are not appropriate and subject to which conditions.