Abstract
Policies to promote university-industry relationships have become central for innovation policies in most countries. The objective of this article is to review the role universities can and cannot play in promoting industrial innovations, to develop a conceptual framework for improving their contribution, and to recommend directions for future policies. Based on the observation that universities contribute at a higher level in new industries than in older ones, the article argues that there are three conceptually different ways through which their contributions can be enhanced by means of their ability to successfully launch new fields of science. These three ways are : improving the level and volume of science, changing the orientation of science towards Pasteur's Quadrant so that basic research may be supported with broad future applicability in mind, and improving the mechanisms through which scientific research is conducted at the organizational level. The article recommends future policies to tackle these issues by increasing competition in research funding, by diversifying the sources of scientific funding, and by supporting bottom up organizational changes such as redefinition of internal and external boundaries at universities.
