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| Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Tripartite use of R and D for private sector by Dr. R.M.W. Amaradasa Conceptually, the relationships among universities, industry and research institutions are considered as any interaction taking place in the form of educational and training service or research and development (R & D) based interaction. These three types of interactions can take place in a combined form in a specific relationship between firms and universities or research institutes. Within these modalities, the relationship can take place either in a rather informal manner or in a more organised manner. It can also take a combination of formal and informal relationship depending on the context. University-Research-Industry (URI) relationships are regarded as one of the central instruments to develop technological capabilities in a country. The intense nature of the relationships varies from country to country, according to the technological advancement, knowledge base and the industry base of the country. Also, the nature and characteristics of the relationships can be different depending on the availability of resources, social and cultural issues and policy environment. In the context of knowledge intensive economies, the governments have increasingly considered the importance of URI relationship as a means to keep up the leading edge research capabilities, to improve applicability of knowledge for social needs and to use the resources for international competitiveness. Furthermore, the developed countries increasingly provide the necessary indirect services such as venture capital, intellectual property protection laws to promote knowledge creation and utilisation. In this context, governments in industrialised countries play a crucial role by long range planning followed by a catalytic role. Globally, universities, industries and research institutes have a social responsibility to fulfil social needs for a better quality of life. One of the purposes of URI relationships may be satisfying social needs while achieving their own benefits. The social responsibilities of universities, industries and research institutes in industrialised countries are equally applicable for less industrialised countries. However, less developed countries to have less capabilities for leading edge research due to lack of skills, competencies and weak industrial bases, but the social responsibilities remain same. Hence, the goals of URI relationships in less industrialised countries may vary in terms of intensity and nature. However, the firms in these countries still need to keep them competitive in the local market or limited export market. In this context technological capabilities have become a major determinant of the competitiveness which in turn support industrial growth. Hence, forms in less industrialised countries also need to capture the required skills and know-how to become competitive. Firms can do this through networks and relationships with academic and research organizations either within the country or outside the country. Even to understand the technology borrowed from outside, a substantial level of know-how is required for these companies. This can be achieved in many ways. One is to recruit skilled staff who can understand or access the knowledge to utilize the technology efficiently. Otherwise, companies need the services of technical experts who can explain the new technology. Even after acquiring the technology, they may need process related changes or modifications to suit the environment or raw material. This needs purposeful access to the local S & T base. Collaboration with the local S & T base seems to be the most appropriate and productive solution as the local S & T base has better knowledge on local conditions and material. Such collaborations can also be cost effective in the long run as capability building through technology adaptation reduces the knowledge gap between the knowledge 'Producers' and 'Users'. These three reasons may drive the local firms to involve in relationships with local S & T base, i.e. 1. To become competitive in local and export market 2. To understand borrowed technology 3. To adapt the technology to suit local conditions. However, the local S & T base in less industrialised countries shows its own weaknesses such as inefficiency and irrelevance. On the other hand, the industries are working on their own agenda despite the need to overcome many weaknesses such as lack of technological capabilities. Hence the governments in less industrialized countries need to play a more active interventionist role than to be a catalyst to facilitate relationships between firms and universities or research institutes. The governments in developing countries tend to implant policy tools that are seen in promotional context of developed countries, without taking trouble to understand properly the country's specific conditions which are critical for operational context and performance. For example, constraints in most developing countries such as a weak industrial base, less developed skills and lack of R & D capabilities, including level of R & D expenditure can usually be overcome by adapting generic policy interventions. Governments can also intervene by copying the establishment of promotional structures, which are seen in developed countries. Despite the presence or absence of such policies, how different actors of the URI spheres react to the emerging requirements, appears to have country specific formula. Hence, it is emphasised that understanding the micro-strengths are equally important to promotional mechanisms such as structural mechanisms. With respect to framework level intervention, the government interventions in supporting structural mechanisms such as liaison offices, university innovation centres, technology innovation programmes, university companies, teaching companies, joint R & D programmes and university industrial parks may be capable of fostering frequent and informal contacts, and more effective formal interactions. To be continued |
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