Managing Collaborations of Engineering Management With Academia and Government in Triple Helix Technology Development Projects: A Case Example of Precarn From the Intelligent Systems Sector

Engineering Management Journal, Jun 2007 by Johnson, William H A

Abstract:

This article examines "triple helix" collaborations, which are technology development projects that consist of industry, academia, and government partners. The article provides engineering managers with a process for engaging in such collaborations. Due to the cultural and organizational differences of partners, effective collaboration is difficult. The process offered follows the general stages of a typical project and discusses the challenges that may arise at each stage. The introduction of a fourth party called a "4th Pillar organization" is recommended as a solution to the difficult process of managing triple helix projects. A case study of the 4th Pillar organization, Precarn, and the benefits it has provided is presented. An engineering manager can use this article to decide whether to engage in triple helix collaborations and, if so, how the process of successful collaboration can be managed by a 4th Pillar-type organization. After reading it, the engineering manager will know whether or not it makes sense to engage a 4th Pillar organization in order to help with triple helix collaboration.

Keywords: Triple Helix R&D, Commercialization, Innovation, Collaboration

EMJ Focus Areas: Strategic & Operational Management; Program/Project Management

Engineering managers, particularly those in small to medium sized (SME) firms1, face tough challenges when engaging in cutting-edge technology development projects with partners from academia and government. Much of the challenge stems from the difficult processes of effectively participating in the triple helix organization consisting of actors from industry, government and academia (Benner and Sandstrom, 2000; Castro, Rodrigues, Esteves, and Pires, 2000; Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff 2000; Leydesdorff, 2000). The organization is called a "triple helix" because of the three distinct partners involved, with their different cultures and objectives, that become entangled within the collaboration effort. Etzkowitz and Klofsten (2005) showed that the triple helix of organizations plays an important role in the regional development of science and technology (S&T) and can help SME engineering firms develop their technologies toward commercialization. And although Meyer (2003) showed that financial assistance to start-up technology firms is one of the major factors that helped SME engineering firms in the triple helix arrangement, many other cultural and managerial needs exist for the effective and efficient management of such collaborative R&D projects.

In contrast to university incubators (Heidrick, Kramers, and Godin, 2005; O'Neal, 2005), triple helix collaborations may focus on technologies developed anywhere within the network of organizations in the S&T environment-not just university labs. This poses many challenges and opportunities for engineering management. The main challenge is how to manage such that the engineering firm can benefit the most from collaborative R&D based on the triple helix model of technological development. In particular, what organizational mechanisms can help to ameliorate the difficulties in terms of financing, organizing, and the bridging of cultural differences among the actors in the triple helix arrangement? One organizational mechanism-the focus of this article-is the utilization of an outside partner that is not part of the triple helix actor network but can help manage the collaborative project. Typically, these consist of collaboratives or near government organization (NGO)-type organizations. If the three types of organizations in the triple helix are represented as three pillars in technological developments then one can represent this fourth type of organization, which helps the collaboration of the other three, as the "4th Pillar." Thus, a 4th Pillar organization is described here as an organization that helps to fund and manage, from a distant perspective, the technological development projects of the triple helix, but is not one of these other three types of organizations. That is, it is important to make the distinction that while 4th Pillar organizations help to fund and manage triple helix projects, they are not one of the triple helix partners but rather a hybrid that brings members of the other three triple helix organizations together and can facilitate an effective collaboration.

The designation of the term "4th Pillar" helps to illustrate the stabilizing role such an organization can play in managing the network of other organizations in the triple helix collaboration. 4th Pillar organizations often play similar roles as university incubators but also offer many other resources not provided by such organizations. For example, they differ from the university incubators like that described by Allen and Taylor (2005) in that they not only provide technology and expertise to facilitate networking, but also, as described in more detail later in the article, provide funding, management expertise and other invaluable resources needed to ensure success of actual triple helix projects. Exhibit 1 illustrates the connections provided by 4th Pillar organizations and the general mandate of each type of organization in the triple helix network. The 4th Pillar itself maintains the general mandate of building and managing the effective linkages among the other three types of organizations in the S&T network.