There is a trend in industry sector cluster initiatives involving public-private partnerships with an emphasis on technologies, innovation, and economic development. These partnerships can include new levels of cooperation and collaboration between universities, industry, entrepreneurial networks, economic development agencies and others. Federal agencies and programs are seeking regional partnerships to leverage their funding resources and to stimulate public-private regional partnerships. One example has been the recent federally designated Manufacturing Community in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Ventura Counties, the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Southern California (AMP SoCal). AMP SoCal unites a broad-based consortium of 86 dedicated organizations that have come together to transform the Aerospace and Defense (“A&D”) industry with a focus on advanced manufacturing technologies from additive manufacturing to model-based engineering and design. Simultaneous to the successful launch of the AMP SoCal has been a collaboration between five California State Universities in Los Angeles County to work together as members of this regional partnership and for other initiatives. How these partnerships were formed, their goals, and how they are being nurtured in their fledgling state will be discussed.

1. University Economic
Development Association
Annual Summit
September 30, 2014

2. “Roles of Universities in Regional
Partnerships”

3. Presenters:
-Dr. Marie Talnack, Cal State Poly Pomona,
TTO Director and CSU5 Guide
-Dion Jackson, USC, Economic
Development Center, AMP So Cal Lead
-Ashish Vaidya, Special Advisor to the
President for Regional Economic
Development, Cal State, LA
-Julia Potter, Cal State, Northridge,
External Relationships and CSU5 Guide

4. Key Concepts:
-University’s as Innovation Hubs in their Regions
-When to Participate/How to Participate
-Taking the Lead: USC’s EDC
-Multi-Campus Collaborations- University
Initiatives /Partnerships
-CSU5: Industry Relations and Research
-Participation in Regional A&D Partnership

5. “There is a high degree of consensus
around the idea of considering
universities and research centres as
critical institutional actors in
national innovation systems within
the knowledge-based economy”.
Elena (2009)
The question is what will be the
university’s role in this new system;
how does it differ from the role they
have played?

6. Dr. Marie Talnack: “The Role of the
University in a Regional Partnership”
The university must be clear on the answers
to such straightforward questions as: What
can we learn from such a partnership? What
do we need to know? Where should we be
going as a university? How does this fit our
mission?

7. The emphasis now is building upon existing
local comparative advantages as well as
stimulating innovation and entrepreneurial
activity. This is about relationships and
networks as much as ‘brick and mortar’ physical
infrastructure.

8. Dion Jackson:
Taking the Lead in a Regional Innovation
Partnership: “AMP for SoCal”

9. “Imagine if this region had a network….”

10. Concluding Remarks
1.) Commitment to the Partnership:
“Many centrifugal forces can pull partnerships apart
and only one-the shared commitment and
interdependency of the partners-can hold them
together” (Larson and Brahmakulam, 2002: 36).

11. Concluding Remarks
2.) Connectivity, Creativity, Collaboration
Saxenian, 1994 studying the resurgence of
Silicon Valley from a period of economic
recession found areas rebounded with new
technologies, new industries and new
applications for technologies. The networks
were in place, the university relationships
continued to grow, and most importantly
physical ‘distance’ no longer mattered.

12. Concluding Remarks
3.) Sustainability of Partnerships:
More than 70% of partnerships formed between
universities and industry end in either failure or
a lack of significant results. Partnerships require
a commitment of resources and time on the part
of participants. Too often, once the initial
interest wanes meetings are postponed, subside,
and eventually stop altogether.