REPORT The Role of Universities in REPORT Economic Competitiveness in California amb la col·laboració de: The Role of Universities in Economic Competitiveness in California [email protected] www.acup.cat THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS IN CALIFORNIA © 2018, AUTHORS and EDITORS EDITED AND COORDINATED BY ASSOCIACIÓ CATALANA D’UNIVERSITATS PÚBLIQUES (ACUP): Josep M. Vilalta Josep Alías Alicia Betts AUTHORS: John Aubrey Douglass and C. Judson King GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Nexe Impressions SL LINGUISTIC REVISION Dosbé Publishers, S.L. The Role of Universities in Economic Competitiveness in California A Case Study for the Catalan Association of Public Universities By John Aubrey Douglass and C. Judson King January 2018 Table of contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 9 1. Introduction – The Goals of the Report ............................................................................. 15 2. The Dynamics of Robust Knowledge Based Economic Areas ......................................... 19 2.1. Robust KBEAs – seven contextual variables ............................................................... 20 3. UC’S Research Portfolio and Economic Impact on California ....................................... 38 3.1. UC’s Research Funding Portfolio ................................................................................ 38 3.2. Geographic Presence and Public Service ................................................................... 40 3.3. Employment .................................................................................................................. 42 3.4. Degree Programs and Employment Patterns of Graduates ..................................... 44 3.5. Research Impact ........................................................................................................... 47 4. California’s Story – The Role of Universities in Economic Progress ............................... 50 4.1. Specific locales .............................................................................................................. 50 4.2. Specific industries ......................................................................................................... 65 4.3. UC collaborative research programs and institutes ................................................. 70 4.4. Large relationships with particular companies ........................................................ 74 Douglass and King: The Role of Universities 7 _ REPORT in Economic Competitiveness in California 5. University of California Policies and Administrative Structures – Incentives and Rules of Engagement ..................................................................................................................... 79 5.1. University Governance, Management and a Tradition of Shared Governance ...... 79 5.2. Promotion and Advancement of Faculty .................................................................... 81 5.3. Institutional Oversight: Organization and Mechanisms .......................................... 85 6. Universities and Innovation – Conclusion and Reflections on California and Catalonia .............................................................................................................................. 94 Project principals brief bios .................................................................................................. 100 Appendices .............................................................................................................................. 102 References ............................................................................................................................... 111 _ 8 Executive summary Commissioned by the Associació Catalana d’Universitats Públiques (ACUP), this report provides a case study of the University of California’s (UC) role in helping to create a highly competitive economy and in a manner that may be of use in Catalonia. The report provides a discussion on the role of research universities as important players in larger innovation ecosystems, the economic impact of UC on California, specific examples of university-private sector engagement, and relevant UC policies that set what we call the “rules of engagement” that both encourage economic engagement and protect academic freedom and university autonomy. California and Catalonia In the size of their populations and economies, and in their public systems of higher education, there are important differences and similarities between California and Catalonia, including: » The Autonomous Region of Catalonia holds a similar position as an economic innovator and driver for the Spanish economy, but with a substantially smaller population. Nearly 19 percent of Spain’s GDP is produced in Catalonia. Catalonia universities and businesses account for 25 percent of Spain’s production of scientific research, including patents and licenses. » There are some similarities in issues related to income inequality and significant problems with increasing educational attainment rates in California and Catalonia. » At the same time, Catalonia’s economy is less diverse then California’s, with a smaller high technology sector and only a few large businesses. California’s economy is now growing in the post-Great Recession Era with a large expansion of its technology sector, while Spain’s, and Catalonia’s, is still in a transition period. » UC is a coherent network of ten university campuses under a single governing board and with substantial management capacity under its “One University” model; it is also part of a larger pioneering system of higher education that is highly mission-differentiated sys- tem. In contrast, Catalonia’s public universities are independent entities. » At the time of finalizing this report, and in contrast to California, Catalonia is in the- midst of significant political turmoil and uncertainty in the aftermath of a referendum for independence from Spain. Although outside the scope of this report, this situation creates an unstable environment for Catalonia’s universities to innovate and promote economic development. Douglass and King: The Role of Universities 9 _ REPORT in Economic Competitiveness in California Knowledge Based Economic Regions – A Framework for Analysis The growing acceptance of new growth theory relates, in part, to a number of highly touted regional success stories—or what we term Knowledge Based Economic Areas (KBEAs) in this report. The United States, and California in particular, are viewed as perhaps the most robust creators of KBEAs, providing an influential model that is visited and revisited by business and government leaders, and other universities, that wish to replicate their strengths within their own cultural and political terms. While California has a number of unique characteristics, including a robust University of California system with a strong internal academic culture and devotion to public service, the story of its historical and contemporary success as an agent of economic development is closely linked to a number of key contextual factors. These relate to the internal culture, governance and management capacity of major universities in the United States, investment patterns in R&D, the business environment, including the concentration of Knowledge Based Businesses and the availability of venture capital, the legal environment related to Intellectual Property (IP) including tax laws that promote private R&D investment, the quality of the workforce, and quality of life variables important component for attracting and retaining talent. In most of these areas, California has enjoyed an advantage that helps to partially explain the success of the University of California as an agent of economic development. The University of California’s Economic Impact With ten campuses, the University of California is a significant actor in California’s economy and in its social and cultural life. With expenditures of about $31.5 billion in 2017-18, much of that in the form of salaries, wages and benefits, UC annually generates more than $46 billion in economic activity in California. In total, UC generates approximately $14 dollars in economic output for every dollar of taxpayer money invested by the state. The following summarizes some of the key ways UC influences and shapes the California economy. › Geographic Presence and Public Service One of the key features of California’s pioneering public higher education system is a conscious effort to have campuses and services distributed throughout the state, and correlating with population centers and regional economic needs. _ 10 › Employment UC is a major employer in California, with over 190,000 faculty, researchers, staff, and students employed at 10 campuses, five health centers, and other facilities throughout the state, making UC the third-largest employer in the state. UC employees are broadly distributed throughout the state with about 74 percent associated with the nine general campuses, 23 percent at the five health centers, and 3 percent at other UC facilities. › Graduates and Post-Graduate Employment UC has more than 150 academic disciplines and over 600 graduate degree programs. At the undergraduate level, the university awards nearly one-third of California’s bachelor’s degrees. Across disciplines, undergraduate degree recipients tend to double their earnings between two and ten years after graduation. At the graduate