Business links and the role of Government

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Business links and the role of Government

• Jeff Skinner
• Commercial Director, UCL.

2
Does industry need new university links?

• Sounds good stuff but what do we mean by
• need
• new
• university
• links?
• Fundamental not hair-splitting.
• Hardly qualified to answer this question!

3
need

• They need universities, but what for
• Students (perennial 1 KT mechanism).
• Publications (for free)
• Informal links (conferences, consultancies?)
• May not think universities have anything further
  to offer
• Think they have all the technology expertise
  they need (individually or corporately).
• May not know what they are missing.
• May not think universities can deliver
• Academic timescales
• In-penetrable administration
• Good value.
• They may be right, they may be wrong.

4
Links

• Individual or Corporate?
• Academics
• Decide their own priorities
• Are the unit of performance
• Can bolt on big initiatives I suppose, but
• Costs loads
• May not integrate with university.
• Otherwise bottom up
• Can be encouraged (rearrange food)
• Feed good individual enthusiasms.

5
Of industry.
What we think they need
What they think they need
6
Of ourselves...
What we could do.
What we want to do.
7
Combine to get.
Lowest hanging fruit
University
Industry
8
Low hanging fruit
Industry
University
Need to persuade academics/university
Need to persuade industry
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Do we need Government Initiatives?

• Yes, if initiatives means
• Stable, dependable cash.
• ring-fenced for 3rd mission activity.
• Less enthusiastic if initiatives mean
• over-directed cash (e.g.RDAs)
• short-term
• Constant need for new initiatives.

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Why do we need (extra) cash?

• Remember ring-fenced for KT!
• Very simple
• Technical reasons
• Benefits to society/economy gtgt than to
  university, so underinvestment in KT rational.
• RAE provides an entirely different priority.
• Political reasons
• Powerful people would divert cash elsewhere.
• Cultural reasons
• Not natural behaviour for most cash a useful
  incentive.
• Activity not applauded by peers.

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Role of Government

• Create separate pot.
• Call for proposals.
• Give cash against sensible proposals.
• Measure outputs objectively (without creating
  perverse incentives).
• Continue to support successful stuff, but,
• Keep some back for experiments.

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Do we need new interfaces?

• Not if this means more middlemen

One interface
Two interfaces

• But useful if interface provides
• Information flow (both ways)
• More professional deal-making.

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At UCL, HEIF funds

• New mechanisms for interaction (e.g. UCL
  Consultants Ltd).
• Business Development Managers (BDMs) who are
  successful if
• academics bid for them (build on strength,
  enthusiasm, vision)
• focussed on specific sectors (therefore expert)
• very strong academic links
• Eat, drink, smell etc academics, and,
• Priorities set by academics, but
• are managed centrally
• To prevent mission creep
• Support aid exchange of experience (successes
  woes).

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Role of BDMs

• Do stuff that academics
• Are bad at
• Shouldnt waste time doing
• Shouldnt do alone (e.g. negotiate)
• Mentor, lead, academics.
• Think up structure of deal/collaboration.
• Create/feed information in right form
• Handle enquiries (gateway).

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How to reconcile different cultures.

• Brick by brick.
• Work with those (individuals) who want to work
  with you.
• Strong top mgmt support
• Hire unusual people (like me)
• Support/protect/involve/listen to them
• Make decisions that bureaucracy wouldnt
• Fund experiments with the () right vector
• Create incentives for new behaviour (policy).
• Recognise
• some wont change because they are against you,
• some because they just dont understand.

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Whats the product?
Reputation of academic group
For Research, innovation, teaching
Academic
Geographical locality
staff
Reputation
attitude
Brochure
for
quality
Others on
Where and
quality
Premises
course
when
Catering
Core
Price
expertise
Ease of
booking
Structure
Accreditation
Recomm
-
Course Material
endation
of past
Flexibility
Guarantee?
students
Expert endorsements
Reputation of University for
Quality, value, brand.