Universities are increasingly expected to be at the heart of networked structures contributing to society in meaningful and measurable ways through research, the teaching and development of experts, and knowledge innovation. While there is nothing new in universities’ links with industry, what is recent is their role as territorial actors. It is government policy in many countries that universities - and in some countries national laboratories - stimulate regional or local economic development.
Universities, Innovation and the Economy explores the implications of this expectation. It sites this new role within the context of broader political histories, comparing how countries in Europe and North America have balanced the traditional roles of teaching and research with that of exploitation of research and defining a territorial role.
Helen Lawton-Smith highlights how pressure from the state and from industry has produced new paradigms of accountability that include responsibilities for regional development. This book uses empirical evidence from studies conducted in North America and Europe to provide an overview of the changing geography of university-industry links.
List of Tables List of Figures Preface and Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. What Kinds of University Systems 2. The Regional Economy and the University 3. The Measurement of University and Industry Links and Economic Development 4. Universities in National Innovation Systems in Europe 5. Universities in Innovation Systems in North America 6. Universities, Labour Markets and Economic Development in Europe and the USA 7. Case Study Places: Europe – Grenoble and Oxfordshire 8. Case Study Places: USA– Stanford, Louisville and Princeton 9. Conclusions References Index
Biography
Helen Lawton Smith is Reader in Management, School of Management and Organisational Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London, UK and Director of Research, Oxfordshire Economic Observatory, Oxford University
'The book is well positioned in the Routledge studies in business organisations and network series, offering a valuable contribution and essential reading to those interested in the role(s) of universities in the 21st century.' - Environment and Planning
