Research as a Service: The Role of Competence Centers in Bridging Industry and Academia

Abstract

Turning research results into commercial success has been one of the key economic challenges since the beginning of the industrial revolution. In this context, most recently an increasing impact of Public Private Partnership (PPP) approaches can be observed. In this chapter, we focus on a specific form of PPP which aims at establishing so-called “Competence Centers”, i.e. research institutions explicitly joining the forces of academic and industrial research. Based on two examples in the Austrian funding program COMET, we describe the basic setup of such centers, and discuss the specific roles and challenges for various types of research staff, including their roles and career paths. Finally, we sketch the most important lessons learned, before we conclude with a brief summary and outlook.