Improving knowledge transfer between research institutions and industry across Europe : embracing open innovation : implementing the Lisbon agenda : communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions

The need for effective knowledge transfer among public and private research has never been greater than it is today. Companies, universities and research and technology organisations understand that leadership in their respective fields depends upon collaborating productively with each other, in ways that support and reinforce their distinct yet complementary missions. By now, the working practices and professional skills required for effective knowledge transfer are widely known and well documented. Unfortunately, many difficulties still remain, often relating to a need to better understand respective partners' interests and motives, to improve the management of intellectual property rights and deal with unrealistic expectations. At present, we are simply not capitalising adequately on the knowledge that is at our disposal. It is much easier to overcome these difficulties when sound conditions are established that provide a basis for long-term trust and lead to simple and effective rules of engagement at grass roots level. When we published the Handbook of Responsible Partnering, which contains guidelines based on good practices, we called on governments to give greater priority to establishing these conditions, and to work towards greater consistency across national boundaries. We have been promoting these guidelines widely within the business and public research communities during the past two years. We are grateful to the European Commission for now highlighting this priority also and for documenting important lessons learnt. We ask all governments to take notice of these lessons, and to continue the processes of reform and improvement necessary to secure European leadership in the knowledge economy.