University Interaction Index

[John Cummins]

To begin, there are many indices that could be used to 'measure innovation'.

My particular area of interest concerns the interactions between universities and 'industry' (or more accurately, those organisations external to universities). My suggested index concerns the extent of these interactions.

The underlying hypothesis is that an innovative environment is characterised (among other things) by extensive interactions between universities and external organisations.

The index is: INCOME DERIVED BY UNIVERSITIES FROM ALL EXTERNAL INTERACTIONS
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(PUBLIC) INVESTMENT INTO RESEARCH AND TEACHING

There are several interaction types: contract research, collaborative research, consultancy, professional training, IP sale and licensing (which includes sale of equity in spin-outs). This information is recorded in the UK by HEFCE in the HEBCIS survey.

This index may be thought of as the exploitation of the 'knowledge base' through direct interactions rather than indirect interactions (research paper output and trained graduates).

Depending on the intended application of the index, several variations may be considered e.g. restriction to interactions with commercial organisations.