Bridging research and industry

As well as helping Cambridge University academics enter into commercialisation arrangements for their discoveries, Cambridge Enterprise also provides a managed service to help them apply their knowledge to real-life situations by undertaking consultancy work.

Dr Paul Seabright heads the Cambridge University Technical Services Limited (CUTS) at Cambridge Enterprise, which now manages 200 consultancy projects per annum in subject areas that range from engineering to economics, physics to philosophy and computer sciences to clinical medicine.

‘In consultancy, as opposed to collaborative research,’ he explains, ‘academics apply their personal expertise to help a client organisation solve problems that are specific to the client’s business. It’s one of the principal mechanisms by which knowledge that has practical applications can be disseminated to the public and private sector, and the University can make its earliest direct impact on society.’

The number of consultancy projects undertaken through Cambridge Enterprise continues to grow rapidly; in fact, a third of projects handled over the past year were from first-time consultants. The type of projects vary widely between expert witness appearances and tendered public contracts, while the broad scope of projects reflects the wide range of University research that is in demand by both industry and government.

Expert knowledge

Consultancy can involve a problem-solving activity that has tangible results. Dr Minna Sunikka-Blank of the Department of Architecture, for instance, conducted a social and technical performance monitoring analysis for PRP Architects Ltd, aiming to discover how and why tenants alter their energy-use habits. The information contributed to ‘Retrofit for the Future’, an initiative of the Technology Strategy Board which aims to retrofit the existing housing to meet future emissions targets. Also from the Department of Architecture, Michael Ramage designed and supervised the installation of a brick and mortar dome structure for ‘The Bowls Project’, part of the annual New Frequencies Music Festival presented by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco.

In many cases, consultancy takes the form of the delivery of expert opinion. Professor David Newbery of the Faculty of Economics wrote an analysis of policy options for the funding of a Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration plant in the UK. And Professor David Farrington, from the Institute of Criminology, completed a feasibility study for the National Policing Improvement Agency on the impact of closed-circuit television upon criminal justice outcomes.

CUTS

The managed service provided by CUTS helps academics to concentrate on the project and the relationship with the client without any distraction about contractual matters or the management of the administrative issues associated with the project. Meanwhile, client organisations are able to commission work from individual staff who have cutting-edge expertise, under contract with a professionally managed limited liability company backed by the University and utilising the University’s insurance cover. ‘The contractual terms ensure that both the client and the member of staff gain mutual benefit from the relationship,’ explains Dr Seabright, ‘and the University frequently benefits from the longer term substantial relationships, including research collaborations that develop from consultancy activity.’

For more information, please contact Dr Paul Seabright (cuts@enterprise.cam.ac.uk) at Cambridge Enterprise Limited (www.enterprise.cam.ac.uk/).