The Development of Organized University-Industry Alliances in Japan

ABSTRACT

As the amount of research funds provided by corporations to universities increases, "organized alliances" between university and industry are beginning to emerge. These alliances are formalized, institution level relationships between the university and the corporation. Based on private sector agreements or contracts, they primarily involve multiple-project funding in a given field of research, but can also include non-research related activities such as personnel exchange. The most fully developed form of organized alliance is what is called a company-university cooperative research program. In these programs, the entire process of research and development, from inception to end product evaluation, is supervised under one cooperative management framework.

Cooperative research programs in the US, many of which began in the 1980s, involve a formal contract between a university and a corporation in connection to a particular field of study. The faculty elects the research topics, and several projects are pursued over what is usually a three to five year period. Management committees are formed by representatives of both the corporation and the university : one that deals with the issues of day-to-day operation, and another that decides on the more general policy and research related issues of the program.

In Japan, organized alliances are the beginning of a trend toward this type of official relationship between universities and corporations. Corporations have begun to seek out such alliances because the institution level relationship ensures that projects are pursued through a single management framework, that the conception and development of research projects are made to reflect more closely the needs and interests of the corporation, and that policies concerning the use of intellectual property rights are clearly established.

Currently, the majority of organized alliances are simply institution level agreements that lay down the groundwork for concrete collaborations. These alliances proceed on a project-by-project basis. There are however a few alliances that have taken on more substance and developed into full-fledged cooperative research programs. The alliance between Kyoto University and five different corporations, or the alliance between Ky?shu University and Dainippon Ink and Chemicals Inc. are the best examples of such programs. Here, the amount of corporate contribution is higher than it has been in the past and is being outlaid for several years at a time.

Ideally realized in such cooperative research program, organized alliances are important relationships as they utilize the broad expertise of universities and generate superior research products. The development of a trust relationship between the university and the corporation is essential to the establishment of these alliances, and thus it requires a positive attitude from the corporations, and in particular, a commitment from the top levels of the company. Protecting university interests through the proper management of projects by corporations, the creation of a supportive environment for university professors, and a mutual understanding between businessmen and professors in negotiating the intellectual property rights of the research products will be necessary for the success of these programs in Japan. On the other hand, it will also be necessary to protect the corporation's investments and avoid unfair limitations on corporate access to university research.