Scope of Advisory Group #8:
Facilitating UC-Industry Relationship - Organization and Structural Issues

Recent history has witnessed the growth of a variety of programs at the University/industry interface. Included among these are many kinds of research collaborations and partnerships that may involve locally conceived affiliate and consortia programs, funding programs (such as MICRO and STAR), research centers, and incubators, as well as tailored extension training programs, business facilitative activities (e.g. technology transfer) and entrepreneurial assistance programs (such as CONNECT). Thoughtful examination of our experiences with these programs in light of UC goals, values and organizational needs can provide valuable future guidance on directions and initiatives for coming years. How should the University go about searching for industrial partners and should priority be given to organizations with certain characteristics? Are there kinds of support services that the University should provide to faculty that would be beneficial in forming productive and effective relationships with industry. Should there be criteria established or guidance developed for determining what kinds of organizations are appropriate for the University to work with? What kinds of data and other information should the University gather and make available and/or what kinds of activities should be undertaken to promote the creative development of University/industry programs and assist in their formulation?

In addition, it is a common assertion of companies that bureaucratic obstacles can pose a major problem for companies that seek to sponsor research or otherwise interact with the University. Although some of these obstacles may derive from University policies, others stem from the administrative complexity of the organization, which may even be problematic for a University "insider" to navigate. Some have suggested that the University consider developing innovative internal administrative structures that facilitate the organizational management of its relationships with industrial partners and others have proposed programs that make it easier for industry to access the University generally.

Advisory Group #8 will consider the potential for the University to develop new programmatic initiatives and functional arrangements with industry and to modify and create internal administrative support systems to facilitate efficient, productive relationships with the private sector within the context of the resource priorities of the University.

Participants in Advisory Group #8:
Facilitating UC-Industry Relationships - Organization & Structural Issues

Richard Attiyeh (Chair)
Interim Senior Vice Chancellor
Academic Affairs
UCSD

Niall Mateer (Specialist)
Director, Research Outreach and Initiatives
UCOP

Alan B. Bennett
Associate Dean, Plant Science
UCD

Gayle J. Byock
Assistant Vice Chancellor, Research
and Planning
UCLA

Martha Dennis
Vice President for Engineering
and Co-Founder, Pacific Communication
Sciences, Inc.,
San Diego

Roy Doumani
Director, Bank of Los Angeles
Beverly Hills, CA

Terence A. Feuerborn
Executive Director, Research
Administration and Technology Transfer
UCOP

Susan Hackwood
Executive Director, California
Council on Science and Technology
Riverside, CA

William Hoskins
Director, Office of Technology Licensing
UCB Gerald S. Lazarus

Dean, School of Medicine
UCD

Susanne Huttner
Director, UC Systemwide Biotechnology Program
UCOP

Gerald S. Lazarus
Dean, School of Medicine
UCD

Gerald S. Levey
Provost, Medical Sciences
UCLA

Marguerite McIntyre
Director, Legal Support Services
UCSF

David Mears
Director, Research Administration Office
UCOP

Venkatesh Narayanamurti
Dean, College of Engineering
UCSB

Ed Penhoet
President/CEO, Chiron Corporation
Emeryville, CA

Hannah Petzenbaum
Director, Research Affairs & Patent Coordinator
UCR

Christine A. Smith
Department of Chemical Engineering
and Materials Science
UCD

Laurel L. Wilkening
Chancellor
UCI

John A. Woods
Vice Chancellor - Resource
Management and Planning
UCSD

Participants in Advisory Group #8:
Facilitating UC-Industry Relationships - Organization & Structural Issues

Challenges:

There was broad agreement within the group that the University needs to meet the following challenges:

1. The guiding principles that define the University's mission, its distinctive character, and its relationship to industry need to be better understood both within the institution and more broadly by industry and the public at large. These principles include:

• the primacy of the University's education mission.
• the importance of maintaining an environment that encourages the open communication of ideas and a free flow of information.
• the need to minimize and manage conflicts of commitment and conflicts of interest.
• the recognition that partnerships with industry and the transfer of information and technology to industry is a legitimate and important activity of the University.

1. The University needs to increase the flexibility with which it interacts with industry. This will require:

• a shift away from a rules-based toward a "how do we make it work"-based approach to decision making.
• granting greater autonomy (with accountability) to decision makers
• a better understanding by faculty and administrators of the principles that must guide decisions about agreements with industry.
• better communication and teamwork among faculty members, contract and grant officers, technology transfer specialists, University counsel, and others who are involved in negotiations with industry.

1. The University needs to develop a pro-active, can-do, user-friendly approach in order to arrange partnerships with and transfer technology to industry. This will require:

• placing greater emphasis on a mind set that seeks fair, equitable, and ethical agreements with industry and less emphasis on negotiating agreements that fit a single template.
• streamlining and facilitating the process that must be followed to reach agreements with industry.
• encouraging University employees to seek agreements with industry consistent with guiding principles rather than to avoid at all cost the risk of embarrassing the University.
• providing better training of faculty and administrative personnel, many of whom are unaware of the complexities involved in reaching an agreement with industry.

Recommendations:

The group recommended that in order to meet the challenges outlined above, the following actions be taken by the University:

1. Rewrite, in consultation with the campus, the policy governing relations with industry so that it contains a readily understood statement in contemporary terms of the principles that guide the University's policies and procedures.

1. Develop a practically useful road-map that faculty, University staff, and people from industry can use to see what steps need to be taken to conclude an agreement with industry.

1. Improve communication among faculty and various administrative units so that people can learn from the experience of others and are aware of successful arrangements made elsewhere.

1. Designate a person in each unit - academic department, contracts and grants office, technology transfer office, etc. - who understands the larger picture, knows the procedures, and can serve as a facilitator for university-industry cooperation.

1. Encourage teamwork among specialists from different units - contracts and grants, technology transfer, conflict of interest, etc., and encourage PI participation in resolving issues, as needed to reach timely agreements with industry that meet University requirements in these areas and are consistent with the guiding principles.

1. Involve the college and school deans in complex or difficult cases to serve as mediators between faculty and administrators or between University and industry personnel.

Comments on the Report of Advisory Group #8:
Facilitating UC-Industry Relationships - Organization & Structural Issues

The recommendations do not recognize the major structural problem which is to decentralize authority and responsibility to the campuses and to the folks negotiating the contracts at the local level.

~Laurel L. Wilkening
Chancellor
Irvine Campus