• About EUA
• EUA Membership & Services
• EUA Work & Policy Area
• EUA Projects
• EUA Council for Doctoral Education
• Institutional Evaluation Programme
• EUA Events
• Publications
• Press Corner
• Job Opportunities at EUA

More effective collaboration between universities and industry is vital to enhancing innovation and promoting greater competitiveness in Europe. Based on its members’ experience, EUA launched its Responsible Partnering Initiative at the European Business Summit in Brussels on 17 March 2006 with the aim to widen consultation with stakeholders on the further development of the "Responsible Partnering" guidelines and to seek to promote their broad implementation.

The Responsible Partnering Initiative has been developed through close collaboration between EUA, the European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA), the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO) and the European Network of Knowledge Transfer Offices linked to Universities and Public Research Organisations (ProTon Europe).

A major Conference was held on the Responsible Partnering theme in 2004 which brought together the main stakeholders from universities, industry and public research organisations. As a result of the conference, a handbook based on good practices in university/industry collaborative research was published in 2005, entitled "Responsible Partnering: Joining Forces in a World of Open Innovation".

A guide to better practices for collaborative research and knowledge transfer between science and industry, the Handbook intends to help senior managers in the public and private sectors responsible for the creation, transfer and application of knowledge. It is seen as a useful step in the process of facilitating more regular interactions between European universities and industry, of building trust and establishing mutually beneficial relations, while respecting each others' core objectives. The principles of responsible partnering described in the Handbook have been endorsed by EUA and its partner associations and by the European Commissioners for Science and Research (Janez Poto?nik) and Enterprise (Günter Verheugen).

In this next stage of development of the "Responsible Partnership" initiative, which has support from the European Commission, DG Research, two validation workshops are being held to widen awareness of the guidelines and to gain critical feedback on their strengths and weaknesses, and their potential for implementation. Workshops participants will be drawn from universities, industry (both large and small business enterprises), public research organisations, knowledge transfer offices and other interested parties.

In light of this feedback and consultation, the main recommendations of the “Responsible Partnering” will be further refined, an information package and communication tools developed, and a framework designed for a wider network of partners who would be willing to adhere to the guidelines. As a result, a revised version of the “Responsible Partnering” guidelines is planned to be published towards the end of 2006.

A Special Conference was held in Lisbon on the 3^rd and 4^th of December 2007, information can be found here including the report from the conference.

For more information, please visit the dedicated website on the Responsible Partnering initiative.