Why is there sometimes joint federal and industrial participation in university research projects?
Increasingly, the federal government encourages the development of collaborative relationships between itself, industry, and academia. New partnerships are fostered through the Defense Reinvestment Act, programs at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. Collaborative relationships are expected to promote economic development, job creation, technology transfer and innovation. Federally funded projects can indeed benefit from the practical industrial perspective. The research can be enhanced by industry’s interest in the application of the research to solving practical problems and creating new or better products. Industry scientists have substantial expertise in many federally funded research areas. Thus, collaboration between research at the university and development at the company facilitates the transfer of new technologies to the commercial sector. The resulting leveraging of funds and expertise benefit
