Project selection: A process analysis

Technology-oriented companies involved in rapidly changing markets are interested in the value of collaborative efforts aimed at the realization of shared benefits, while spreading the costs and risks across multiple partners. The experiences and insights of participants in such ventures can contribute to the understanding of how to build more productive alliances. This study examines the project evaluation processes employed by the most successful industry-university research centers sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The delivery of highly satisfying research programs, as indicated by the industrial representatives, is defined as being successful. This paper focuses on the process management issues involved in the formulation and evaluation of research proposals, structural advantages and liabilities associated with the process, as well as the conditions/contexts that favor their application. These processes are strategically significant because they define the organization's research agenda, focus resource allocations by linking capabilities and commitments, and frame the performance assessment process.