Innovative Approaches for Managing Public-Private Academic Partnerships in Big Science and Engineering

Analyses of public-private academic partnerships (PPAPs) in terms of management, organization, funding, and partner relationships are presented with three case studies, selected to display a range of governance models. The increasing challenges of Big Science seem to demand the merging of the public, private, and academic sectors into a single collaboration. Three conclusions are drawn: (1) complex PPAPs can be successful if partner’s roles are clearly defined; (2) Big Science needs PPAPs to achieve results; and (3) the management style for CLEANER, a Collaborative Large-Scale Engineering Analysis Network for Environmental Research, should make use of a hierarchical PPAP organizational style.