University-government collaboration for the generation and commercialization of new knowledge for use in industry

The concept of Triple Helix relates to collaboration between universities, governments and industry. Such collaboration can take different forms in different countries. This paper describes collaboration between universities and government in China, specifically in the city of Hefei in Anhui province, one of the most rapidly developing regions in the country. The research question is: How can bi-lateral research collaboration be a source of knowledge generation and commercialization for use in industry? The study is qualitative, involving individual focus group interviews with university team leaders and team members from successful projects. Government representatives in China were also interviewed. We used the SECI knowledge creation method to analyze the findings. We also describe the collaboration process from idea and application through to review, funding, realization and commercialization. Our study shows that the government in China plays a dominant role in the process of knowledge creation and commercialization. We conclude that collaboration is a source of new knowledge generation and that the government plays a key role by funding universities and creating a research environment that meets the policy requirements of industry today. In particular, we show that universities and their research groups use resources, such as skilled manpower, laboratories and equipment, to accomplish tasks within a set timeframe.