Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
objectives;.the.private.partner.should.consider.the.university's.research.culture.when.
considering. research. partners.. Given.the.nature. of. research. objectives. at.universi-
ties,.the.horticulture.industry.partner.should.propose.research.projects.that.are.more.
basic,.have.longer.time.frames,.and.are.not.adequately.addressed.by.current.private.
research. efforts.. These. partnerships. are. more. likely. to. be. successfully. negotiated.
if. the. industry. partner. understands,. ex. ante,. the. need. for. academic. freedom.. On.
the. back-end,. university. guidelines. and. policy. usually. constrain. its. researchers. to.
speciic. conditions. for. patenting. research. and. licensing. and. disseminating. results.
(publication. delays).. Although. there. is. some. variation,. these. constraints. are. fairly.
common.among.research.universities.
Both. partners. should. establish. links,. so. that. industry. can. effectively. utilize.
public.research,.and.universities.can.secure.access.to.research.funding.and.com-
plimentary. enabling. technologies.. These. collaborations. can. serve. as. stepping.
stones.to.more.formal,.long-term.agreements..Alternatively,.once.initial.consortia-
university.research.partnerships.are.established,.more.enterprising.members.of.the.
consortia.can.capitalize.on.the.research.contacts.and.pursue.irm-speciic,.applied-
research. partnerships.. The. primary. obstacle. to. forming. these. research. partner-
ships.is.high.transaction.costs..The.process.of.identifying.appropriate.researchers.
as.potential.partners.can.involve.signiicant.search.costs..And.once.the.potential.
partners.have.been.selected,.the.time.and.effort.involved.in.negotiating.a.research.
agreement,.especially.given.the.differing.objectives.of.public.versus.private.insti-
tutions,.can.be.substantial..The.consortium.approach.is.a.strategy.for.sharing.these.
costs..If.the.consortia.are.not.well.structured,.however,.reduced.external.transac-
tion.costs.may.face.higher.internal.costs.of.organizing.and.maintaining.the.con-
sortia.. Inequitable.beneits.sharing. within. a. consortium. may. also. be. a. source.of.
conlict..And.although.this.approach.is.intended.to.serve.the.needs.of.medium-to-
smaller-sized. irms,. the. smallest. enterprises. may. still. be. excluded. (especially. in.
subsequent.partnerships).
Dramatic.improvement.in.the.development.and.commercialization.of.transgenic.
horticultural. crops. can. come. from. increased. involvement. from. the. private. sector..
Though.the.potential.beneits.from.university-industry.partnerships.in.the.ield.of.
agricultural. biotechnology. are. obvious,. the. private. sector. will. not. increase. their.
investment.in.horticultural.R&D.without.active.solicitation.by.the.public.sector..As.
soon.as.the.public.sector.is.able.to.form.horticultural.PPPs,.whether.they.are.com-
posed.of.a.single.irm.or.a.consortia,.formal.or.informal,.or.in.developing.or.industri-
alized.nations,.and.demonstrate.their.value.to.the.private.sector,.there.will.be.fewer.
obstacles. to. forming. PPPs. in. the. future,. and. those. partnerships. are. likely. to. have.
more.favorable.terms.for.the.public.sector.
REFERENCES
.
1.. Aghion,. P.. and. Bolton,. P..An. incomplete. contracts. approach. to. inancial. contracting,.
Rev. Econ. Stud
.,.59,.473,.1992.
.
2.. Bennett,. C.. and. Iossa,. E.. Delegation. of. contracting. in. the. private. provision. of. public.
services,.
Rev. Ind. Organ
.,.29,.75,.2006.
.
3.. Besley,. T.. and. Ghatak,. M.. Government. versus. private. ownership. of. public. goods,.
Q. J. Econ
.,.116,.1343,.2001.
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