Structuring Public–Private Research Partnerships for Success

'In this timely book, Professor Gordon Rausser explores the changing landscape of university-industry relations, informed by his unusual background as a pioneer in Public Private Research Partnerships (PPRPs) while serving as Dean of the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley. Scholars, administrators, and industry executives who are interested in industry/university partnerships will find a treasure of information and insights in this beautifully written book.'
- Steve P. Briggs, University of California, San Diego

'As public/private partnerships have become increasingly important to the funding of academic research, it is essential not only to learn from past institutional experience of such partnerships, but to create templates that optimize their structure for both partners. In his important book, Structuring Public-Private Research Partnerships for Success, Gordon Rausser has set himself to both tasks. All those who think about such partnerships will learn from this book.'
- Carol Christ, University of California, Berkeley

University research has played an essential role in economic growth by generating public good outputs that have not readily lent themselves to private market development. As funding for universities and governmental research units has declined, these institutions have turned to the private sector to augment their research and development budgets. This book presents a framework for structuring public-private research partnerships that protect both these institutions' academic freedom and the private firm's corporate interests.

The authors present a four-stage framework that recognizes the critical role of 'control rights' and reveals how these rights can be effectively identified, valued, and allocated between research partners. The book provides a number of template designs for a variety of research partnerships, including tactics and strategies for implementing successful public-private research partnerships. It further provides case studies with examples of both successful and unsuccessful research partnerships. The book demonstrates that universities are empowered when they pursue private partners actively and when contracts preserve academic freedom, address confidentiality, specify intellectual property rights, define access to proprietary data, clarify the conflict resolution process, and address potential publication delays.

This book is an essential and illuminating resource for academic researchers in economics and public policy departments, technology transfer offices, as well as others involved in university and public administration.