Malopolska Science and Business Units - in Quest for the Missing Link

The paper aims at answering the question how to persuade the managers of business units to use the research outcome of universities, independent research and development units, Think – Tanks and other science – oriented organizations. The basic assumption is that such an exchange should be based on short-, middle-, and long – term profits that could be realized by its both sides. The authors analyzed a group of universities and companies mainly from the Polish region of Malopolska and shared their considerations in the presented paper. The research focused on identifying the qualities that R&D units could possibly offer to business and on elaborating the mechanisms of knowledge transfer including an appropriate pay for the scientific side. The performed research led to a conclusion that an intermediary unit should be operating in order to contact R&D and science units with their future business partners. The authors described the main features and tasks of such a unit, identifying its financing possibilities both from the business, but also from various foundation and public funds. The awaited outcome should be a stable knowledge exchange system, dynamically adapting to the market needs, but also leaving the scientists some freedom of choosing their research topics. This should protect us from a situation where all the research would be business – oriented and possible exclusively after a company order. If implemented all over the European Union, such a system could be a useful tool for making the realization of the Lisbon Strategy more likely.