Organization and Strategy for University-Industry Relationships

We provide a holistic framework for University-Industry (UI) engagement, spanning research, education, economic development, auxiliaries, and clinical activities. Through interviews, surveys, and website review, we apply the framework to UI engagement among university members of UIDP (University Industry Demonstration Partnership). We draw from the experience of UI relationship officers (both in industry and in universities) to gain insights into how universities organize and prioritize UI engagement. We also analyze the public representation of UI engagement, focused on how UI offices are organized among multiple engagement activities. Though few universities have a comprehensive industry engagement organization, many aspire to integrate their silos of industry relationships. UI relationship officers, both from industry and universities, cite “mutually beneficial relationships” most often as a priority. For industry, flexibility to overcome barriers and aligned universities policies were second and third in priority; for university respondents, concierge service and cooperation among units were second and third. While industry and university officers differ in secondary priorities, they are nevertheless aligned in purpose, as concierge and cooperation are means for achieving the industry aims of alignment and overcoming barriers. We recommend that universities apply our framework to develop comprehensive UI engagement programs.