Knowledge Exchange Between Universities and
the Business, Public and Third Sectors:
Preliminary Results From Surveys of Businesses
and Academics
Maria Abreu, Alan Hughes,
Vadim Grinevich and Michael Kitson
Centre for Business Research and
Judge Business School
University of Cambridge
Higher Education – Making A Difference To
Economies And Communities, Belfast
Wednesday 28th January
Some Preliminaries: The Evolution of
University–Business Interactions
• The narrow model
– Focus on a narrow range of technology transfer
mechanisms
• The wider model
– Focus on a wide range of interactions
– Exchange rather than transfer
The Standard Narrow Model
• Narrow focus on Technology Transfer
• Mechanisms: Patents, Licenses, Spin-outs
• Limitations
– Model is incomplete
– Potential financial returns were frequently over-estimated
– Metrics distorting behaviour (Goodhart’s Law: any
observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once
pressure is placed upon it for control purposes)
The Wider Model: Multiple Knowledge
Exchange Mechanisms
•
•
•
•
•
A ‘systems’ approach and not simply ‘market failure’
Educating people
Problem solving
Role of many disciplines (not just STEM)
Interactions with public and third sectors as well as with
business
• Public space functions (Universities do not move)
– Relatively neglected, but distinctive
– Includes networking; social interaction; meetings,
conferences; entrepreneurship centres; personnel
exchanges, including internships
• Focus on exchange not simply ‘transfer’
Knowledge Exchange – Multiple Mechanisms
Educating People
• Training skilled
undergraduates, graduates &
postdocs
Providing public space
Increasing the stock of
‘codified’ useful knowledge
• Publications
• Patents
• Prototypes
• Forming/accessing networks and stimulating
social interaction
• Influencing the direction of search processes
among users and suppliers of technology
and fundamental researchers
–Meetings and conferences
–Hosting standard-setting forums
–Entrepreneurship centers
–Alumni networks
–Personnel exchanges (internships, faculty
exchanges, etc.)
–Visiting committees
–Curriculum development committees
Problem-solving
•
•
•
•
•
Contract research
Cooperative research with industry
Technology licensing
Faculty consulting
Providing access to specialized
instrumentation and equipment
• Incubation services
Source: A. Cosh, A. Hughes and R. Lester UK PLC Just How Innovative Are We?
Cambridge MIT Institute 2006
Universities as Sources of Knowledge
• Universities are one of many components in the
innovation “ecosystem”
• Clients and suppliers are typically cited as the most
important and frequent sources
• Focusing on formal collaborations may be too
restrictive
• Universities are used in combination with internal
sources, other businesses, and intermediary
institutions
The Importance of Diversity
We should, however, guard against a situation where all our
universities aim for the same goals. What is required is a
diversity of excellence, with research universities focusing on
curiosity driven research, teaching and knowledge transfer,
and business-facing universities focusing on the equally
important economic mission of professional teaching, userdriven research, and problem solving with local and regional
companies. Sainsbury (2007): The Race to the Top: A Review of
Government’s Science and Innovation Policies, p.44
Some Unresolved Issues
• Relative importance of non-traditional types of
interaction, including “public space” roles?
• Extent of collaboration of businesses with academics
beyond science and engineering?
• Interactions with the public and third sectors?
ESRC Project on University-Business
Knowledge Exchange
• Multi-methodology approach
• In a first stage, scoping case studies of businesses and
academics to help in the development of two survey
instruments
• In the second stage, two large-scale surveys of
businesses and academics, with matched questions
• Finally, a number of in-depth case studies to follow
up on findings from the surveys
Survey of Academics: Interim Results
• Online survey of academics is still underway. The
results in this presentation are based on data from
Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, East of England,
North East and West Midlands.
• Online survey sent to individual e-mail addresses
• Preliminary results based on 6,800 observations
(20% response rate)
• Results for Northern Ireland based on 632
respondents (24% response rate)
Interactions by Discipline
Interactions by discipline
Health Sciences
Biology, Chemistry
Physics and Mathematics
Engineering
Social Sciences
Arts and Humanities
0
20
40
% of respondents
Private sector
Third sector
60
Public sector
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
80
Interactions by Discipline: Northern Ireland
Interactions by discipline, NI
Health Sciences
Biology, Chemistry
Physics and Mathematics
Engineering
Social Sciences
Arts and Humanities
0
20
40
% of respondents
Private sector
Third sector
60
Public sector
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
80
Types of Interactions
• People-based activities (eg training, student
placements)
• Problem-solving activities (eg research, advice,
publications)
• Community-based activities (eg public lectures,
school projects)
Involvement in People-based Activities
People-based activities
Employee training
Student placements
Curriculum development
Attending conferences
Standard setting forums
Participating in networks
Sitting on advisory boards
Giving invited lectures
Enterprise Education
0
20
40
60
% of respondents
80
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
Involvement in People-based Activities:
Northern Ireland
People-based activities, NI
Employee training
Student placements
Curriculum development
Attending conferences
Standard setting forums
Participating in networks
Sitting on advisory boards
Giving invited lectures
Enterprise Education
0
20
40
60
% of respondents
80
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
100
Involvement in Problem-solving Activities
Problem-solving activities
Hosting of personnel
External secondment
Joint research
Contract research
Consultancy services
Research consortia
Informal advice
Prototyping and testing
Setting up physical facilities
Joint publications
0
20
40
% of respondents
60
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
Involvement in Problem-solving Activities:
Northern Ireland
Problem-solving activities, NI
Hosting of personnel
External secondment
Joint research
Contract research
Consultancy services
Research consortia
Informal advice
Prototyping and testing
Setting up physical facilities
Joint publications
0
20
40
% of respondents
60
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
Involvement in Community-based
Activities
Community-based activities
Lectures for the community
Community-based sports
Public exhibitions
School projects
0
10
20
% of respondents
30
40
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
Involvement in Community-based
Activities: Northern Ireland
Community-based activities, NI
Lectures for the community
Community-based sports
Public exhibitions
School projects
0
10
20
30
% of respondents
40
50
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
Impact of Interactions on Research
Impact of activities on research
Led to new research projects
Strengthened reputation
Provided new insights
Led to contacts in the field
Very little or no impact
Not applicable
0
20
40
% of respondents
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
60
Impact of Interactions on Teaching
Impact of activities on teaching
Changes to course programme
Strengthened reputation
Changes to presentation of material
Employability of students
Entrepreneurial skills of students
Very little or no impact
Not applicable
0
10
20
% of respondents
30
40
Source: Centre for Business Research / ESRC Survey of Academics (2008)
Survey of Businesses: Interim Results
Total sample
Total no of ineligible firms
Surveyed firms
23296
2096
21200
Total usable responses
2357
Response rate (%)
11.1
The survey was carried out during July to September
2008.
Firms (%) Employing Someone to Liaise with HEIs
45
45
41
40
40
35
35
30
30
25
25
%
23
20
15
20
15
12
10
10
10
6
5
5
0
0
All
Micro
Small
Medium
Large
Source: CBR HEI Business Survey 2008
• Medium and
large have this
specialised post
•
•
•
•
Micro <10
Small 10-50
Medium 50-250
Large >250
Interactions by Discipline
• Business has
high demand
for STEM,
Social
Sciences
and Built
Environment
Engineering/ Technology
Business and Financial Studies
Mathematics/ Computing
Architecture/ Building/ Planning and Urban Design
Materials Science
Education
Biological Science
Chemistry
Physics/ Astronomy/ Earth Science
Economics and Social Science
Creative Arts
Medicine/Dentistry
Veterinary/ Agricultural Studies
Language Studies
Other Humanities
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
%
Source: CBR HEI Business Survey 2008
O
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%
Why Interact with HEIs?
35
30
5
29.4
25
23.9
20
15
10
4.0
4.5
30.1
33.1
26.1
17.4
12.7
6.7
0
Source: CBR HEI Business Survey 2008
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
• Technology
not dominant;
the whole of
business
needs are met
50
Respondents actions
in approaching
academics and/or
HEIs directly
29.7
33.2
Individual academics
40
Mutual actions
following up informal
contacts
A third party
organisation
19.6
Mutual actions
following up contact at
a formal conference or
meeting
University
knowledge/technology
transfer office
%
How are Interactions with HEIs Initiated?
44.7
33.6
30
Source: CBR HEI Business Survey 2008
50
40
22.1
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
• Informal
individual
approaches
dominate.
• University
intermediation
relatively
infrequent.
Involved with HEIs in People-based
Activities
70
66.4
70
60
60
50
50
41.2
40
%
40
30
26.9
30
25.9
17.9
20
20
10
10
0
0
All
Micro
Small
Medium
Large
Source: CBR HEI Business Survey 2008
• High levels of
interaction
rising with size.
• But 17.9% of
micro-firms is
a large number
of firms
Involved with HEIs in Problem-solving
Activities
40
40
%
35.2
35
35
30
30
25
25
19.7
20
20
15
15
11.2
10
10.1
10
6.4
5
5
0
0
All
Micro
Small
Medium
Large
Source: CBR HEI Business Survey 2008
• Percentage
involvement
rises with
size
• Low micro
and small
interaction
Involved with HEIs in Community-based
Activities
50
50
45.2
45
45
40
40
35
35
%
30
30
26.3
25
20
25
17.0
15
20
16.7
15
10.5
10
10
5
5
0
0
All
Micro
Small
Medium
Large
Source: CBR HEI Business Survey 2008
• Percentage
involvement
rises with
size
Positive Impact of Firms’ Involvement in
Knowledge Exchange Activities
70
70
60.0
60
60
54.3
50
45.3
50
44.4
38.2
40
%
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
All
Micro
Small
Medium
Large
Source: CBR HEI Business Survey 2008
• Likelihood of
positive
impact
highest in
medium and
large firms
Constraints on Interactions (% of
collaborating firms)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of resources in the firm to manage the interaction
Lack of regional programmes that encourage interactions
Difficulty in identifying partners
Insufficient benefits from interaction
Lack of central government programmes
Lack of experience dealing with academics and/or HEIs
Bureaucracy and inflexibility of HEI administration
Lack of interest by academics and/or HEIs
Incompatibility of timescales for deliverables
Cultural differences
Difficulty in reaching agreement on intellectual property
38.4
29.1
28.1
27.3
26.9
22.1
20.9
19.3
14.5
8.0
6.5
Reasons for Not Interacting with HEIs
80
80
73.4
70
70
60
60
49.9
46.6
%
50
50
39.0
40
40
30.4
27.7
30
30
20
20
6.5
10
0
No
i
ns
o
tc
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d
re
e
d
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0
t
an
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le
re
n
io
at
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in
on
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a
rm
o
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in
s
f it
e
n
be
n
tio
on
w
ho
to
go
i
ns
o
C
t
ou
b
a
d
re
e
d
it
o
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e
m
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n
co
si
n
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g
in
d
re
e
d
o
to
m
co
d
te
a
ic
pl
si
n
Co
d
re
e
d
d
ie
r
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o
to
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i
ns
e
p
ex
e
th
s
pa
ve
nd
a
t
id
ti d
tw
o
n
k
or
Source: CBR HEI Business Survey 2008
• Many firms
do not need
to interact
with HEIs
• Significant
proportion
cite
information
problems
University-Industry Knowledge Exchange
in the UK : The State of Play
• There is no one ideal model of university-business
interactions
• Wide range of interactions, but people-based
interactions are most important
• Interactions encompass a wide range of disciplines
and involve the business, public and third sectors
• Many interactions involved strategic, long-term
problems rather than specific technical issues
• Importance of “gatekeepers”, on both sides of the
relationship, to identify, promote and ensure the
success of interactions
THE MYTH OF THE
ACADEMIC IVORY
TOWER