Universities play role in private R&D centers

You want the best research and development, so you need to go where the best and the brightest matriculate, according to a new study.
The study also said more research and development is going offshore. In a survey conducted by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private foundation that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America, asking more than 200 multinational corporations their research center decisions, 38% said they planned to change the worldwide distribution of their research and development work over the next three years. You can guess what countries will get the greatest increase in projects: China and India.
Are these companies doing this because of lower labor costs or better tax incentives? No, the companies said; they are a reason, but not the top cause.
Instead, the report found multinational corporations were global shoppers for talent. The companies want to garner close links with top universities in emerging markets to work with professors and hire promising graduates.
University collaboration plays a big role in the decision-making process for locating R&D facilities, the researchers said. In fact, collaboration with universities was a prevalent factor for expanding to emerging countries.
"The study underscores the critical role universities play in a country's national innovation system, not just in the training of new scientists and access to the best talent, but in the ease of developing and licensing technology," said Carl Schramm, president and chief executive of the Kauffman Foundation.