The Role of Academic Research in Fostering Industrial Innovation

拟议研究的目的是扩展最初开发的数据库，以检查各行业的技术创新在多大程度上依赖于最近的学术研究。扩大的数据库将确定负责导致重大工业进展的研究的学术团体和机构，确定研究不同阶段的财政支助来源，以及这些项目的想法来源。将获得约50至100项创新的数据，这些创新由40或50家公司确定，导致了没有学术研究就不会开发的新产品或新工艺。这项研究的结果应该会为科学政策制定者提供有价值的信息。将提供新的信息，说明在推动重大产业创新方面取得相对成功的研究小组和大学类型，以及它们是否在相关学科中获得最高评级。鉴于目前对科学技术在促进经济增长和美国工业竞争力方面的作用的强调，了解某些资助机构、基金会或公司是否支持了导致产业创新的不成比例的研究份额，应该是有帮助的。这些结果还将解决定向或非定向研究在多大程度上更多地产生对创新重要的发现。

The purpose of the proposed study is to extend a data base that was initially developed to examine the extent to which technological innovations in various industries have been dependent on recent academic research. The extended data base would identify the academic groups and institutions which were responsible for research that led to major industrial advances, determine sources of financial support at various stages of the research as well as the sources of ideas for these projects. Data would be obtained on about 50 to 100 innovations identif- ied by 40 or 50 firms as leading to new products or processes that would not have been developed without academic research. The results of this study should provide valuable information to science policy makers. New information will be available on the types of research groups and kinds of universities that have been relatively successful in promoting significant industrial innovation and whether they have been the most highly rated in the relevant discipline. Given the current emphasis on the role of science and technology in promoting economic growth and the competitiveness of American industry, it should be helpful to know whether certain funding agencies, foundation, or firms have supported a disproportion- ate share of research leading to industrial innovation. The results will also address the extent to which targeted or un- targeted research is more productive of findings important for innovation.