Conquering Innovation Fatigue in University-Industry Collaboration: Recommendations for Success

In spite of many successes in strengthening collaboration between universities and industry, a number of surprising barriers remain in place. Some involve gaps in culture, expectations, and incentives that can puzzle or frustrate one or both parties. Others involve external factors such as taxation policies and legislation which can become exacerbated as fatigue factors when they are misunderstood or misinterpreted. We explore some of the "innovation fatigue factors" that can hinder the potential of university-industry collaboration and recommend work-arounds or solutions to help university researchers, industry employees, and other parties realize the rich benefits of collaboration when unnecessary barriers are overcome.