University of Wisconsin-Madison

Report of the Chancellor's Task Force on University-Business Relations

April 21, 2003

I. Introduction

Since the establishment of the University of Wisconsin in 1848 the campus has regularly refocused its activities to better address the changing needs of the state of Wisconsin. Such efforts began in 1864 when UW-Madison obtained designation as the state's land grant institution, which led to the expansion of the curriculum with the creation of colleges of agriculture, mechanical arts and related programs. Beginning in the late 1800's, University of Wisconsin faculty and leaders saw the enormous benefits of the Germanic universities and began to integrate research into the University's core instructional mission, which ultimately led to combining the research and instructional missions. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, the concept of the "Wisconsin Idea" was introduced and a third mission of "service to the state" was added.

There are also examples of UW-Madison refocusing its activities specifically to address the needs of business and industry. In 1924, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) was founded as a partner institution to the UW-Madison to transfer inventions arising from university research to the private sector. The partnership between WARF and the university was committed to a written agreement in 1968, which was then amended in 1999 to recognize the university's and WARF's obligations under the Federal Bayh-Dole Act and WARF's status as the exclusive patent management organization of the UW-Madison. In 1963, the office of University-Industry Relations (UIR) was formed to enhance the on-going relationship between UW-Madison and the private sector by assisting in technology transfer, building research partnerships between the university and industry, and fostering economic development. In 1984, the University Research Park (URP) was created as a separate non-profit entity charged with developing university land and leasing it to companies interested in maintaining close contact with the university community. URP also provides an atmosphere custom-designed to nurture a productive combination of economic and technological development. In 1992, the UW-Madison Graduate School created the University-Industry Relations Review Committee, which concluded that the most productive relationship between the UW-Madison and the private sector had yet to be established. Chaired by Professor Hector DeLuca, the committee forwarded five recommendations aimed at addressing its findings that a significant portion of useful university-generated technology was not being transferred to the private sector and that the full potential for industrial support of university research remained critically unrealized. During the 1990's UW-Madison implemented several changes that were identified in the DeLuca report.

More recently, in 2001, building upon the 1989 and 1998 North Central Association reaccreditations and Self Study Reports, UW-Madison developed a Campus Strategic Plan that included five priorities: promoting research, advancing learning, accelerating internationalization, nurturing human resources, and amplifying the Wisconsin Idea. Embedded in the UW-Madison Strategic Plan's priority of "Amplifying the Wisconsin Idea" is the goal of creating a state-university partnership to develop critical mass for growing technology transfer in Wisconsin.

Finally, University, government and business leaders, including Governor Jim Doyle and Chancellor John Wiley, have all recognized that strategies must be pursued that address Wisconsin's fiscal deficit and stagnant economy by producing more and better educated citizens, encouraging technology transfer and promoting business growth. Wisconsin needs to encourage the development of new high-wage industries and the integration of technology in existing industries. UW-Madison, in particular, must enhance its technology transfer connections with private business and industry, and improve efforts at recruiting, retaining and graduating students in competitive degree programs. Over time, if enacted, the strategies will create high-wage jobs; attract, educate and retain a qualified workforce; lift Wisconsin's below average per capita income; and eventually generate tax revenues for future state investments. As the Wisconsin Technology Council explained in 2002 and as Governor Doyle recently noted in his State of the State Address, the long-term budget solution must include education and jobs policies that reduce the deficit by growing the economy. It is within this context that Chancellor John Wiley created the Chancellor's Task Force on University-Business Relations to study the relationship between UW-Madison and the business community and to recommend ways that the university could better serve the needs of that community.

Below is the list of acronyms used in the document to assist the reader in understanding the report:

Chamberlain Research Consultants, Inc. (CRC)
Technology Transfer Council (TTC)
University-Industry Relations (UIR)
University Research Park (URP)
University of Wisconsin Foundation (UWF)
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)

II. Charge to the Task Force

Chancellor Wiley and Provost Peter Spear met with the Task Force at its first meeting in July 2002 and gave it the following charge:

• Convene focus groups and survey a stratified sample of Wisconsin's and other selected business leaders to determine:
  • What kinds of university-business relations programs and services do business leaders need from the UW-Madison in the areas of research partnerships, technology transfer and economic development collaborations (e.g., employment resources, continuing education, information services, consulting services, patents and inventions, laboratory services, research partnerships, special economic development projects and outreach for fund development purposes)?
  • How do business leaders perceive the way UW-Madison currently applies its resources in the areas of research partnerships, technology transfer and economic development collaborations?
  • How can the UW-Madison better communicate its resources in the areas of research partnerships, technology transfer and economic development collaborations?
• Catalogue major UW-Madison services and initiatives aimed at improving university-business relations (e.g., UIR, URP, WARF, UWF, and other major school/college/unit activities)
• Review successful university-business initiatives at other universities as identified by recent reports;
• Recommend strategies to improve the effectiveness of the university-business relations programs and services; and
• Recommend strategies to increase the visibility and awareness of the university-business relations programs and services in the areas of research partnerships, technology transfer and economic development collaborations.

III. Activities of the Task Force

The Task Force met seven times (July 17, August 27, September 24, November 20, December 16, January 30, and February 24) and undertook a number of activities. To begin, the Task Force asked staff to conduct an informal survey of the major UW-Madison university-business relations activities to gain a better understanding of what was currently being done – and by what units – in this area. The Task Force learned that of the schools and colleges that responded to the survey request, the vast majority of university-business relations activities are carried out by a small number of units (Agricultural and Life Sciences, Engineering, Business, Letters & Science, and General Library Services) and by UIR, URP, UWF and WARF. See appendix A for a copy of the survey summary. The Task Force also heard presentations from the Directors of UIR, WARF, URP and UWF.

In September the Task Force met with Jim Clinton, Executive Director of the Southern Growth Policies Board. The Board released a report in March 2002 titled "Innovation U: New University Roles in a Knowledge Economy" that highlighted twelve universities that have successfully built alliances with industry and have played an active role in regional economic development. UW-Madison was one of the universities held out as an example, but Mr. Clinton made several suggestions on areas that the campus could improve, such as:

• Creating a very visible single point of contact and a coordinating structure to interact with business and industry;
• Reviewing campus policies and procedures to see if any inhibit entrepreneurship of faculty;
• Making a concerted effort to license technology to Wisconsin companies even at the risk of lower royalties in the short-term;
• Making an effort to attract more industry-sponsored research.

The Task Force also commissioned Chamberlain Research Consultants (CRC) to conduct focus groups of Wisconsin business leaders to collect their perceptions of the effectiveness and visibility of UW-Madison's university-business relations efforts. Six focus groups consisting of 71 CEOs, Presidents and Vice Presidents were held in five cities between September 23 and October 16, 2002. CRC recruited participants by phone from several client lists. The groups consisted of a mix of companies with and without a connection to the UW-Madison. Some groups were made up solely of emerging companies (defined as those in business for fewer than ten years) while others consisted of established businesses (those that have been in business for more than ten years), and yet others had both types of businesses.

Sharon Chamberlain of CRC met with the Task Force in November 2002 and provided a summary of what she heard from focus group participants. Many of the business leaders who participated in the focus groups had some experience with UW-Madison's business-relations activities, however an overwhelming majority believed that UW-Madison should make several improvements, including adopting a mission statement about the university's relationship with the business community, developing structures that encourage personal contacts between businesses and the university, working more closely with other UW campuses, and working with businesses during the research process. Below is a summary of suggestions found in the CRC focus group report.

1. UW-Madison should adopt a business model approach, including:
   • developing a business plan;
   • defining its organizational structure;
   • imitating the "personal contact" approach that is already being used by businesses that currently have a connection with UW-Madison; and
   • benchmarking successful departments, schools, and colleges.
2. UW-Madison should improve its communications strategies, including:
   • being more interactive and timely in communication with business and industry;
   • targeting its communication strategies to specific industries;
   • creating marketing strategies for UIR, WARF, and URP;
   • working to improve the UW-Madison web site to make it more user-friendly for businesses; and
   • creating an overview list or directory of all campus university-business relations offerings.
3. UW-Madison should enlarge internship programs and provide greater access to students, thus providing richer educational opportunities and enhancing the chance that UW-Madison graduates will stay in Wisconsin when they graduate.

A copy of the CRC focus group report is included as Appendix B.

Finally, the Task Force also asked staff to consult with UW Extension and prepare an overview of the resources they offer to business and industry (e.g., Small Business Development Center, Small Business Innovation Research Program, Center for Economic Development, Continuing Education programs, UW Learning Innovations, Paper Science Academy). A copy of that summary is attached as Appendix C.

IV. Task Force Findings and Recommendations

The Task Force found that UW-Madison is widely viewed by its peer institutions as a leader in how it interacts with business and industry and for its role in regional economic development. Every UW-Madison school and college, and many centers and institutes, are involved in university-business relations and most are increasing their levels of activity every year. The campus has a wide range of programs and services aimed at serving and supporting the business community, especially in Wisconsin. Highlights include:

• The College of Engineering, which has 39 different research centers that interact with business and industry and 14 research consortia with industry;
• The Engineering Professional Development program, which provided continuing education programs to approximately 3300 Wisconsin residents in 2001, while another 3467 attended the state-funded transportation center one-day program;
• The Fluno Center for Executive Education, part of the School of Business, which offered more than 300 public programs covering 100 topics to about 10,000 participants, and a large number of company-specific customized programs;
• The Small Business Development Center, which delivered 110 non-credit business education sessions for 4,773 participants;
• The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, which has a number of centers, institutes and programs that help thousands of farmers and other agricultural businesses every year;
• WARF, which in 2001 signed over 120 licenses for university-based technology with industry, and managed more than 715 active licenses and options, many of which are with Wisconsin-based companies;
• University Research Park, which in fiscal year 2002 included 107 businesses with more than 4000 employees, and continued the planning for the development of a second research park campus on Madison's far West side; and
• UIR, which in 2001 coordinated the Graduate School Seminar Series that was attended by 786 faculty and staff who learned more about subjects related to intellectual property, research and grant management, and finding research funding opportunities, and provided more than $1.5 million in research funds ($900,000 through the Industrial & Economic Development Research program and $600,000 through the Robert Draper Technology Innovation Fund) to encourage economic development.

However, the Task Force found that gaps, duplication and inefficiencies exist within the current university-business relations structure and programming that need to be addressed. The Task Force also agreed with ideas from Governor Jim Doyle in his recent State of the State Address and from the Wisconsin Technology Council's "Vision 2020: A Model Wisconsin Economy" that encouraged the rapid transfer of technology into entrepreneurial, knowledge-based businesses that will create high-paying jobs and drive our economic prosperity. To address these issues, the Task Force makes the recommendations that are listed below.

Create a Goal Statement for University-Business Relations at UW-Madison

The November 2002 CRC Focus Group Report concluded that the university needed to develop a more detailed and concise statement or set of goals on how it intends to interact with the business community. The majority of the 71 business leaders responded that they did not know whether the University had and/or embraced a mission of serving business and industry. Many of the business leaders in the focus groups did not know which University offices to initially contact with specific university-business relations questions, except WARF or a specific department based on their personal contacts. The business leaders expressed a strong interest in understanding whether the University had experts in their sector and whether those experts were willing to meet with them to discuss their interest in future university-business relations programs. The Task Force agreed with the focus group findings that a goal statement was necessary and that this recommendation would be consistent with the initiatives emerging from the campus-wide priority of "amplifying the Wisconsin Idea."

Before the Task Force drafted the goal statement the group reviewed the 2001 UW-Madison Strategic Plan, which identified the following sample priority activities that are directly related to working for and with business and industry:

• State-University partnership to develop critical mass for growing technology transfer in Wisconsin;
• Develop long-range technology transfer strategy, including facilities, process and people;
• Create environment supportive of faculty, students and staff committed to technology transfer;
• Facilitate technology transfer;
• Increase funding for research ideas leading to technology transfer;
• Provide electronic research administration;
• Extend UW technology transfer connections regionally and globally;
• Provide opportunities that encourage high tech businesses and employees to locate in Wisconsin;
• Link business with technology initiatives;
• Provide research-based expertise to state agencies, educational institutions, and the private sector; and
• Expand continuing professional education and retooling programs.

As a result the Task Force recommends the university adopt the following goal statement:

"It is the goal of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to create and strengthen mutually beneficial relationships between the private sector and the university, with special emphasis on technology transfer, continuing education and providing well-educated students and graduates."

The Task Force also believes that the university's activities in this area should be consistent with the conclusions of the November 2002 Economic Summit III and the Wisconsin Technology Council report "Vision 2020: A Model Wisconsin Economy: Creating Wealth and Improving the Quality of Life in Wisconsin through the Development of a Knowledge-Based Economy." Given the state's fiscal environment the University needs to be cognizant of and, to the extent practical and appropriate, assist those businesses and industries that are most likely to have a substantial impact on the economy and to which the university can bring unique expertise. Examples of such knowledge-based and other high-wage industries are the 10 primary clusters identified at the Economic Summit as driving the Wisconsin economy:

• Agricultural Business/Food Processing Cluster
• Biotechnology/Bioinformatics Cluster
• Business Services/Supply Chain Management Cluster
• Finance/Insurance Cluster
• Information Technology/Data Processing Cluster
• Machinery Manufacturing/Automation Cluster
• Manufacturing/Materials Cluster
• Medical Devices/Medical Informatics Cluster
• Papermaking/Forest Products Cluster
• Printing Cluster

2) Modify University-Business Relations Organizational Structures

Currently, university-business relations activities take place in a number of campus-wide offices (e.g., WARF, UIR, URP) and a larger number of decentralized units (e.g., schools, colleges, academic departments, centers, institutes, and consortia) with the ultimate goal of delivering quality programs and services to meet the needs of business and industry in Wisconsin and beyond. The Task Force recognizes that the decentralized campus structure and culture leads to innovation and excellence; however, the Task Force also concludes that the decentralized nature of the campus creates significant challenges for external stakeholders interested in creating, maintaining and enhancing university-business partnerships. The Task Force noted that this is especially problematic for those businesses without an existing relationship with UW-Madison. The Task Force discovered that many new and emerging companies with limited knowledge of the University are interested in a primary point of contact ("front door") when they are seeking assistance. Most focus group participants noted that they were not aware of UIR, and of those who had heard of UIR many were not aware that one of its functions is to serve as industry's primary link to the University to offer detailed knowledge of resources and expertise across the UW-Madison campus.

The Task Force discussed the historical reasons of assigning certain university-business relations activities to UIR, WARF, URP, schools and colleges, and departments, centers, institutes and consortia. The Task Force also noted that a wide array of gaps, duplication and inefficiencies have emerged during the last decade due to the incremental changes in various campus units. For example, WARF and many schools and colleges have improved their programs and services to better address internal needs and develop external partnerships. The Task Force agreed with the Focus Group's finding that the "front door" function that UIR aims to serve is not working; the Task Force believed that occurred because UIR has been asked to assume a wide range of functions with too little resources and is based on an organizational framework that has not adapted to meet the changing campus and business needs.

The Task Force also determined that several functions are duplicated by various campus units, partly due to inadequacies of the UIR system of associate directors who have dual reporting appointments between UIR and the schools and colleges. The dual appointment system oftentimes leads to multiple and conflicting goals, which adversely impacts the staff's effectiveness. The staff who have dual appointments attempt to address multiple goals, which frequently leads to the staff not having the time to fully understand the wide and changing array of faculty and staff expertise in the schools and colleges to which they are assigned, which is a prerequisite to addressing requests for assistance by business and industry.

The Task Force noted that several of the primary functions historically conducted by UIR are now also taking place in other campus units, and that given the current and future fiscal constraints facing the University the duplication of efforts must now be addressed. For example, the invention disclosure process is conducted not only at UIR, but also at WARF, in consultation with other school/college personnel. The equity review process is another function that needs improvement and could be best served by qualified staff in the schools and colleges. The Task Force also discovered that most schools and colleges, not UIR, have the best connections with their faculty and staff and can better understand whether, how and when that expertise can be shared with and utilized by business and industry.

The Task Force also noticed that there is a lack of coordination between the various campus units dealing with business and industry and technology transfer issues. The Task Force recognized that the organizational gap is more pronounced for many companies that approach the university with a variety needs. For example, a company may be interested in talking with a particular faculty member about research in which he or she is involved; it may want to talk about funding research and/or licensing existing technology; it may want assistance in educating their workers; it may want to recruit students for internship opportunities or employment after graduation; and it may be interested in discussing corporate philanthropy of some type. The Task Force concluded that a new small office should be created to serve as a "front door" to the campus, but in a much different way than originally planned with UIR. The office would work closely with schools and colleges and where appropriate, refer the business to the suitable unit, and then follow-up with the unit to ensure the referral was adequately addressed. In other cases, the office would inform the business that the request cannot be addressed at the UW-Madison, but other options may be available, including other UW System institutions or UW Extension. Further, the Task Force believes that the Technology Transfer Council should be reconstituted, including the addition of non-campus representatives, and charged with recommending new or revised policies and procedures that encourage entrepreneurship.

To address many of the organizational problems listed above, the Task Force recommends the following organizational improvements.

1. Create an Office of Corporate Relations (or similar entity) to coordinate the various activities occurring on campus related to business and industry. This entity should report to the Office of the Chancellor or other appropriate location and serve the functions listed below.
   • >Act as the "front door" to the university for business and industry.
   • Maintain strong connections with school/college staff who can help refer external inquiries to the appropriate unit or faculty member.
   • Serve as a liaison with companies that have multiple needs, such as recruiting, research, and philanthropy (note: companies with existing relationships on campus will not be required to contact the office and can continue to work directly with campus units)
   • House the Technology Transfer Council (TTC), with the director of the entity serving as a member or the chair.
   • Market and communicate the University resources available to business and industry.
   • Serve as a liaison to major business organizations such as Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Forward Wisconsin, Competitive Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Technology Council.
   • Survey companies that work with the university.
   • Interface with other UW system campuses and UW Extension to gain knowledge of and access to their local businesses and to provide referrals of companies to those campuses as appropriate.
2. Abolish UIR and transfer its functions to schools/colleges, WARF and the Graduate School, as follows.
   • Transfer the development and administration of the UIR seminar programs, workshops, and grant programs to the Graduate School.
   • End the dual appointments between UIR and schools-colleges, and transfer those functions to schools and colleges. The schools and colleges should determine what is the most appropriate model to adopt that will best collect information on faculty and staff expertise and that will enhance their ability to participate in activities that meet the needs of business and industry. The schools and colleges should then develop a job description for the new or existing staff that will focus on:
     • maintaining contact with their researchers so they know what research is being performed;
     • actively promoting research programs/services to business and industry; and
       
     • learning what business and industry want from the university.
   • The Chancellor should add university-business relations as an evaluation element in the Deans' five-year review as a means to increase university-business relations accountability in the schools and colleges.
   • Transfer responsibility for the Community of Science Database and Facilities Database to WARF; ask WARF to monitor the value and effectiveness of the databases, and determine how and when the campus should share the database information with business leaders and groups.
   • Transfer equity review functions to schools and colleges; ask WARF to provide funding through the Graduate School for any FTE required.
   • Make WARF responsible for all matters related to invention disclosure, patents, licensing, federally funded invention reports, plant variety protection and copyright as appropriate.
   • Move the Assistant Director for Business Development from UIR to the Weinert Center or University Research Park to continue focusing on the development of new companies and working with existing businesses and spin-offs.
3. Reconstitute the charge and composition of the Technology Transfer Council (TTC).
   • Add external representatives, assign a staff person, appoint a committee chair, and revise the committee's charge to be more externally focused;
   • An early committee responsibility should be to recommend new or revised policies and procedures that encourage entrepreneurship;
   • To increase the committee's effectiveness and visibility the TTC should be administered by the new Office of Corporate Relations (or similar entity);
   • Task the TTC with devising a plan to attract more industry-sponsored research; and
   • Direct the Office of Corporate Relations (or similar entity) to work with the TTC and develop an annual report, including measurable outcomes.

3) Create a Communications Plan for University-Business Relations

The Task Force concluded that the challenges that business and industry have connecting with the university are further complicated because the University's communication to the business community is at best fractured. In addition to the organizational changes recommended earlier, the Task Force recommends that the University improve its communication efforts with business and industry.

To address communication gaps, the Task Force recommends the following improvements.

1. Task University Communications with developing a strategic communications plan that is designed to communicate to business and industry in Wisconsin the resources that are available to them; involve units doing significant university-business relations activities.
2. Continue to improve the university's web site to make it easier to navigate; create a mechanism for businesses to easily identify campus events in which they might have an interest (e.g., continuing education programs through the Fluno Center).
3. Charge University Communications to consult with business groups on how best to monitor and share business contact information, or to create and manage a database of business leaders' names, titles, addresses, and other contact information.
4. Create a general presentation on the University's assets and services that are relevant to the business community, and individual presentation modules that address the information needs of specific business sectors. Make a concentrated effort to have UW-Madison staff make presentations at Service Clubs, Chambers of Commerce and other such organizations throughout the state.
5. Create and produce information of specific interest to sectors of the business community, and disseminate it to executives of businesses in those sectors, as well as posting the information on the University web site.
6. Consider creating a new web-based subscription business news wire that provides stories about University assets and services of interest to the business community.
7. Create and distribute announcements of these services as they become available.
8. Conduct regular surveys and/or focus groups of business and industry leaders that measure the effectiveness of university-business relations activities.
9. Enhance communications efforts at University Research Park that assist Park tenants with marketing and communications and that further market the Park.

4) Other Programmatic Initiatives

The Task Force identified several other programmatic opportunities that should be further discussed by the reconstituted Technology Transfer Council and/or the new Office of Corporate Relations. Several of the recommendations are currently being reviewed, others could be easily adopted, while others may prove too difficult or controversial to implement immediately and thus require further study.

The Task Force recommends the following programmatic improvements.

1. Continue to improve and streamline the Industry-Sponsored Research Agreement process.
2. Actively monitor federal research grant RFPs and assign someone responsibility to inform faculty members and businesses (as appropriate) who have an interest in that area of research of the RFPs.
3. Enhance campus internship programs and challenge staff to actively market student interns to businesses.
4. Create a UW-Madison Career Services Council that brings together the UW-Madison career service units and charge the Council with developing a strategic plan that will provide greater interaction between students and businesses.
5. WARF will increase efforts at marketing licensing opportunities to Wisconsin businesses.
6. Challenge the Law School to provide expertise in business law issues to those faculty/businesses working through the Weinert Center.
7. Develop a closer working relationship with other UW campuses and their local business community, and where appropriate do referrals.
8. Create a formal campus event to honor faculty entrepreneurs.

V. Conclusion

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a long history of providing valuable assistance to business and industry, and has much of which to be proud. As the needs of the business community change – in areas such as education, research, access to students and graduates and partnerships - it is important that the university change the way it does business with business so that it can continue to play a major role in serving and growing Wisconsin companies. The Task Force believes that the recommendations included herein will allow the university to do just that.

Members of the Chancellor's Task Force on University-Business Relations

• Mark Bugher, Director, University Research Park (Chair)
• Elton (Abe) Aberle, Dean, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences
• Laurie Benson, President and CEO, Inacom Information Systems
• Martin Cadwallader, Dean, UW-Madison Graduate School
• Carl Gulbrandsen, Managing Director, WARF
• Jim Haney, President, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce
• Tom Hefty, Chairman and CEO, Cobalt Corporation
• Michael Knetter, Dean, School of Business
• Paul Peercy, Dean, College of Engineering
• Andrew A. (Sandy) Wilcox, President, University of Wisconsin Foundation

Staff:

• Charlie Hoslet, Senior Special Assistant to the Chancellor
• Noel Radomski, Planning and Policy Analyst
• Patrick Strickler, Director, University Communication