Exploring cultures within university-industry partnerships: A case study of the California Institutes for Science and Innovation.

摘要

As research universities confront growing financial constraints and changing needs in R&D, they are increasingly entering into strategic alliances with industry partners. One such partnership between academia and industry are the California Institutes for Science and Innovation. These institutes, which are in the early phases of program planning and implementation, include partnerships focused on issues such as telecommunications, information technology, nanosystems, and biomedical research. Effective collaboration between the institutes, private industry, and the state is thus intended to promote California's economic growth and competitiveness in the global marketplace by increasing the capacity for research and development and by providing training for California's future scientists and workforce. These institutes plan to generate new revenue streams to the university, to become leaders in graduate education, and to become centers where faculty from multiple disciplines can collaborate.; Given this context, the primary goal of this study has thus been to contribute to our understanding of university-industry partnerships by providing research-based evidence that focuses on the perspectives of the faculty, students, administrators, and industry partners who are currently working to establish the California Institutes for Science and Innovation. A case study approach was used to accomplish these goals, including extensive participant observation at one of the institutes (the California NanoSystems Institute, CNSI) as well as supplemental document analysis and interviews with selected participants at each of the four institutes and from the larger university system.; The findings of this study showed that each of the four California Institutes for Science and Innovation have similar approaches to developing priorities, focusing on building community and developing relationships among their partners. While each institute is unique and has its own strengths and challenges, commonalities can be found in the developing organizational culture at each of the institutes. The members of these institutes face complex challenges, and yet they welcome the opportunity to collaborate, recognizing that the potential value of the partnership is greater than what can be accomplished alone.