Collaborating with Universities and Government Labs

Innovative organizations have long recognized the value of collaboration between well-matched partners. The result of this growing interest has been a number of programs and policies intended to facilitate industry collaborations. This shift has significant implications for industry. By leveraging basic research and technology created at federal labs or research universities, companies can reduce sunk costs and risk associated with the early stages of innovation. The first step, of course, is finding an appropriate partner. Typically, this begins with a search to determine who is doing innovative work in a particular field. Many companies will have technology search processes in place to survey such obvious sources as journal articles and conference proceedings. One particularly valuable resource for structuring collaborations is UIDP's Contract Accords for University Industry Sponsored Agreements, developed by a working group of university and corporate research administration professionals.