Structuring University– Private Partnerships for Developing and Commercializing Transgenic Horticultural Crops - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 245

Firms Universities Public institutions

Commerical discoveries

Nurseries

Grower adoption

Packaging and processing

Wholesale

Food service

Retail

Consumers

FIGURE 11.1 Sources.of.discovery.and.commercialization.

to.HAL,.which.is.distributed.to.a.broad.range.of.research.programs.in.response.to.
the.horticulture.industry's.current.needs..The.establishment.of.similar.organizations.
in. the. U.S.. horticulture. industry. (see. Figure. 11.1),. with. mandatory. contributions,.
would.dramatically.increase.funding.for.public.good.research.
Domestic. and. international. public-private. research. partnerships. in. horticulture.
are.considered.especially.important.for.developing.economies. 29 .Dixon 26 .notes.that.
successful.entrepreneurs.in.horticulture.maintain.a.continuous.dialogue.with.scientists;.
partnerships. are. one. approach. for. guaranteeing. this. dialogue.. Dixon. also. notes.
that.linkages.between.research.and.industry.(public.and.private.relationships).have.
improved.“where.levy.funding.systems.have.been.established.to.support.scientiic.
endeavors.”. In. other. words,. more. formal. inancial. arrangements. between. partners.
are.likely.to.yield.a.superior.exchange.
The.most.relevant.partnership.model.for.the.horticulture.industry.is.that.of.less.
formal,. single,. or. multiple-project. partnerships. (sponsored. project. and. informal.
arrangements)..Private.horticulture.institutions.should.seek.to.align.research.incen-
tives.and.form.consortia.of.small.and.medium.irms.with.parallel.research.interests.
to.concentrate.intellectual.and.inancial.resources..These.consortia.are.organized.by.
crop.or.pest.type.(or.other.research.interests).to.facilitate.networking,.identify.key.
researchers.at.public.institutions,.and.propose.speciic.research.projects..A.propor-
tional-contribution.burden.sharing.scheme.between.consortia.members.is.likely.to.
be. the. most. effective. self-governing. approach. given. the. public. nature. of. research.
leads.and.outcomes.
The. university. should. accept. or. reject. these. proposals. based. on. the. research.
synergy. and. embedded. options.. Although. all. universities. share. a. common. set. of.
core.principles.that.guide.their.decisions,.different.institutions.emphasize.different.