International inter-sectoral collaboration in university research centres: innovation systems in the United States and beyond in comparative perspective

University research centres often involve a mix of inter-sectoral and international collaboration. Although the contributions of federally-funded research centres to the United States economy have been studied extensively, less is known about the international aspects of university research centres. The collaborations involved are influenced by opportunities and challenges arising from the national innovation systems of each partner organisation. The centres may also contribute to the innovation systems of the home countries of partners. In response, this article presents two case studies of United States university research centres engaged in international and inter-sectoral engineering research collaborations and the associated roles of the innovation systems of California and the United States more generally, involving France, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. The case studies demonstrate the feasibility, and also the limitations, of using published accounts to understand the history, mission, and membership of such centres with international partners without government funding – leading to the identification of directions for future research on centres with international membership. The membership of the centres suggests that international collaborations may be a response to market and government failure in the public production of knowledge.