Enhancing university-industry linkages - potentials and limitations of government policies

Developing policies for enhancing the productivity of university-industry linkages has been a central issue on the political agenda for decades. However, as reality shows there are pro and cons of any policy applied. In this study, we explore these policies based on the 'triple helix' (government-industry-university) and knowledge triangle (research-teaching-innovation) models and with a strong focus on the regional, country-specific and institutional context. In conclusion, our exploration suggests that first the 'optimal' shape of university-industry linkages portfolios takes account of different country, region and institution specific features by setting different incentives and funding principles at the respective level. Second, policies should use appropriate metrics to measure the performance of these linkages. Third, a precondition is a multi-level governance arrangement between ministries, higher education institutions, local and regional governments must define the respective roles of stakeholders. And finally, input of regional business leaders with a long term commitment to the region might be an important factor.