The Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR), created in 1984, provides a unique forum for dialogue among top government, university and industry leaders of the national science and technology enterprise. The Roundtable is sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. It is guided by a Council that sets the Roundtable agenda, addresses some topics directly, and oversees the plans and activities of Working Groups appointed to examine additional topics in depth.
In recent years, the Roundtable has sponsored a number of projects. Stresses on Research and Education at Colleges and Universities: Phase II is a study, initiated in 1993, sponsored in conjunction with the National Science Board (NSB). The purpose of this study is to illuminate the major sources of stress affecting the academic research and education community and to identify possible remedies. A Final report will be available in the fall-winter season of 1998. Another project, entitled Formulating U.S. Research Policies Within an International Context examines shifts occurring within the worldwide research enterprise and investigates possible new approaches appropriate for domestic researchers. An international colloquium was held in May, 1997. A follow-up report was prepared and published in 1998. The Roundtable is the convenor of the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP). The FDP through meetings and the issuance of reports serves as an ongoing cooperative effort among sixty-five universities or research institutes and eleven Federal Agencies to address means to improve management of federally-funded research. The Roundtable also is engaged in a study of the vitality and prevalence of industry and university research collaborations. In the fall of 1995, the Roundtable, along with the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) and the Council on Competitiveness co-sponsored a workshop at Duke University. The final published in early 1997. An outgrowth of this effort was a workshop held in Irvine California on March 23-24, 1998, which highlighted barriers and the most effective ways to overcome them. All of these are of a continuing nature.
Future project focus areas include Secrecy and Openness in Science, Streamlining Regulatory Restrictions and Minimizing Regulatory Costs in Laboratory Settings, Public Stakeholding in Science, and Technical and Professional Development of Teachers of Science and Mathematics.
Primary core support is received by each of the major federal research and development agencies. In 1993, the Roundtable began to establish an affiliated University-Industry Partnership program as a supplemental component of its funding. Currently fourteen partnerships exist. The Roundtable is seeking to add two or three more partnerships over the next three years. Additional support from foundations and states is sought for special activities.
