MIT Sloan Management Review

•Identify;internal;users;of;this;output;at;the;working;level;;executive;champions;are not a substitute for this requirement.

2. Select boundary-spanning project managers with three key attributes:

•In-depth;knowledge;of;the;technology;needs;in;the;field • The;inclination;to;network;across;functional;and;organizational;boundaries •The;ability;to;make;connections;between;research;and;opportunities;for;product;applications

3. Share with the university team the vision of how the collaboration can help the company.

•Select;researchers;who;will;understand;company;practices;and;technology;goals.

•Ensure;that;the;university;team;appreciates;the;project’s;strategic;context.

4. Invest in long-term relationships.

•Plan;multiyear;collaboration;time;frames.

•Cultivate;relationships;with;target;university;researchers,;even;if;research;is;not;directly;supported.

5. Establish strong communication linkage with the university team.

•Conduct;face-to-face;meetings;on;a;regular;basis.

•Develop;an;overall;communication;routine;to;supplement;the;meetings.

•Encourage;extended;personnel;exchange,;both;company;to;university;and;university;to;company.

6. Build broad awareness of the project within the company.

•Promote;university;team;interactions;with;different;functional;areas;within;the;company.

•Promote;feedback;to;the;university;team;on;project;alignment;with;company;needs.

7. Support the work internally both during the contract and after, until the research can be exploited.

•Provide;appropriate;internal;support;for;technical;and;management;oversight.

•Include;accountability;for;company;uptake;of;research;results;as;part;of;the;project;manager;role.

and pass on to the university team ideas, suggestions and potential linkages to other company activities.

The project manager, however, is not the only channel for knowledge flow. The capability for impact is enhanced if there are direct communications between the university and other units within the company (e.g., design, development, manufacturing, marketing and so on). No matter how knowledgeable the project manager is in the technical field, the chance of making new connections for the research are greater if individuals involved with development, manufacturing or production, for example, have the opportunity to be in direct contact with university researchers. The probability that useful information will be brought to bear on the development of the university research or its subsequent application is enhanced by all these two-way flows.

A further finding is that these knowledge exchanges need to continue even after the contractual research project is completed; lack of attention to this point was one reason for failure to exploit successful project outcomes. The survey questions were thus designed to investigate whether the channels for knowledge exchange were active both during and after project completion, as well as to examine the quality of the relationships.

Seven Best Practices for Industry-University Collaboration On the basis of these observations, we propose a set of seven guidelines that companies should follow to get the most value out of their research collaborations with industry. While adhering to this set of best practices will not guarantee success, it will help managers to steer around the pitfalls that beset many of these partnerships and to realize more of their business potential. Taken together, these practices can measurably enhance the capability of industry-university collaboration to have positive impact on company products and processes.

Practice 1: Define the Project’s Strategic Context as Part of the Selection Process Industry-university collaborations must be aligned with the company’s research and development strategy and address a tangible need of the company. If not, there is high risk of investing in projects that have little or no impact. One senior technology manager stated: “Ensure that there is a tight link between the current commercial strategy and the research collaboration.” While this is a sound recommendation, we emphasize that the context of an aligned R&D strategy is not a synonym for “short term.” The point is that there should be a vision within the company about what the university project will provide to the company. University research that lacks both a link to the company’s R&D portfolio and a company unit that cares about the result is unlikely to be given enough attention to prove useful.

University projects with links to internal company interests create a strong continuing basis for collaboration when the research complements the company’s own R&D or when the project is considered important for the company’s technological