Increasing Industry-Funded Research Should be a Focus of Every Research Institution
The Funding Landscape
Every academic institution that engages in funded research prioritizes increasing their research portfolio. While they place much emphasis on their faculty being awarded federal grants (NIH, NSF, DoD), industry-funded research represents one of the best opportunities to win research dollars and to advance innovations from the laboratory to products that may benefit society. Industry funding of academic research in the United States is one of the two major sources of research funding in academia along with government support. Surprisingly, private funding of research accounts for the majority of R&D funding overall. Data from the National Science Foundation from 2019 show that business leads in the R&D sector.
Industry R&D expenditures by business have increased steadily since 2000 while federal spending on R&D has remained flat or declined when adjusted for inflation (NSF Science and Engineering Indicators, 2022).
Much of the $464B in industrial research expenditures occur in-house or with contract research organizations but $44B of that money goes to universities for basic, applied and developmental research. This investment in academic R&D is growing. Basic and applied research accounts for about 35% of these totals while development is funded at 65%. That is contrasted with federal government research expenditures totaling about $170B with approximately $42B of that money supporting academic research.
The Benefits of Industry Funding Are Numerous
Increasing industry-funded academic research should be a focus of every research institution. The benefits of doing so extend well beyond the monetary value of the interaction.. Industry-academic collaborations set the stage for building partnerships into long-term relationships with very tangible benefits to all stakeholders. When an industry experiences how the academic institution and its investigators handle theR&D relationship, it becomes much easier for them to decide whether to continue to engage with that institution, particularly from a legal contracting perspective.
From the academic side, expansion of research relationships is a very desirable outcome. These relationships can grow into other areas of scientific expertise that were not part of the original engagement. Industry partners like to work with investigators who understand how business operates and can adhere to industry standards and timelines. Additionally, philanthropic giving of former students employed by industry is always a desirable outcome for universities.
Successful relationships between specific industries and universities means that the expectations of stakeholders for future projects are more easily managed, especially when it comes to contract negotiations.
Astound Research is Playing a Key Role in Facilitating Industry-Academic Collaborations
Astound’s focus is on simplifying the task of finding and engaging the right research partner on both sides of the market. Our exhaustive customer discovery is driving development of smart matching features that lower the friction in this two-sided marketplace. Astound will deliver rapid discovery of R&D matches at academic institutions and a comprehensive listing of fundable industrial R&D opportunities.