Study on Suitable Management organizations to Promote Usage of Measurement Instruments Produced by University Research

There are the following three steps to increase users of cutting-edge measurement instruments produced by university research: (1) providing information on their use at scientific conferences, (2) conducting collaborative research between the developers and users of the instruments, and (3) providing a contract measurement service to researchers wanting to use the instruments as needed. This research study aims to determine the criteria for selecting suitable operating organization handling contract measurement service above when it is located within or outside the university. As model cases, we investigated the following two types of businesses that operate university-owned instruments to provide measurement results: shared-use facilities for industry-academia collaborations operated by universities (university organizations) and university-launched companies (companies) performing outsourced services under an instrument-use agreement with the universities. We interviewed three university organizations and three companies about their challenges and success points in managing their organizations. A comparison of the interviews revealed that “maintenance of the organization,” “hiring human resources,” and “expanding customer base” are the criteria for selecting the two types of businesses.