This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)
This Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project--a Type III: (C: A) partnership between Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg (PSH), an institution new to the PFI Program (defined as one that has never been a PFI grantee) and Pennsylvania State University-University Park (PSUP), an NSF PFI graduate (0090393) seeks to overcome the industry/university cultural chasm by forging new partnerships for innovation between universities and businesses in South Central Pennsylvania. Newly formed partnerships will advance innovative technologies as a result of breadth and depth of expertise, sharing of intellectual and physical resources, and rigorous internal and external evaluation procedures. The project builds on prior knowledge about partnerships for innovation from relevant research literature and in lessons learned from the efforts of the PSUP graduated PFI. The proposed model is based on the literature on links between innovation and technology-based economic development for the types of institutions involved. The project goals are based on a three-phase approach of awareness, skill training, and implementation presented. The project will advance discovery via teaching and training in the region, in multiple, targeted business sectors and related academic disciplines.
The broader impacts of the project include removing regional industry/university collaboration barriers; outreach to thousands of faculty and tens of thousands of students, multiple dissemination strategies; and broad participation by smaller academic institutions, small businesses, and underrepresented groups.
Partners at the inception of the project are Academic Institutions: Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg (PSH) (lead institution), Pennsylvania State University-University Park (PSUP), Dickinson College, Franklin and Marshall College, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Elizabethtown College, Harrisburg Area Community College, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Messiah College, Millersville University, and Shippensburg University; Private Sector Partners: Gannett Fleming, Mission Research, Die Tech, Keystone BioFuels, Material Sensing and Instrumentation; and Economic Development Partners: Lancaster Keystone Innovation Zone, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA, Ben Franklin Venture Investment Forum, Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC), Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central PA, Technology Council of Central PA/Tech Quest, Innovation Transfer Network (ITN).
