SECTION II 



3. COORDINATION BETWEEN INDUSTRIES IN INDUSTRIAL 



RESEARCH 



By C. G. Worthington 

 Secretary, Industrial Research Institute, Chicago, III. 



ABSTRACT 



This is a survey of the present cooperation between 

 companies as to (1) joint activities in research, (2) the 

 exchange of information, and (3) the publication of 

 research findings. It is based on the activities of com- 

 panies which represent many of the industries and 

 industrial areas of the country. 



Joint research carried on by industrial companies 

 takes the form of (a) cooperation in the research 

 activities of technical societies, trade associations, and 

 the like, (6) cooperation with other companies in the 

 development of a new product, a new process, or a new 

 raw material which all the companies are interested in 

 commercializing, and (c) cooperation in financing in- 



dustrial research in universities and in government 

 resoai'ch foundation, and private consulting laboratories. 

 Research information is exchanged among industrial 

 concerns through members of their staffs participating 

 in the meetings and serving on the committees of 

 technical societies, trade associations, and the like. 

 The general policy is to encourage the publication of 

 research findings which contribute to teclmical knowl- 

 edge unless such a step would jeopardize a company's 

 position or reveal proprietary secrets. Information 

 about the organization, management, and administra- 

 tion of research in industiy is exchanged at group meet- 

 ings of industrial executives and of research directors. 



Joint Activities in Research 



Scientific and engineering societies and trade associa- 

 tions conduct many investigations which are so broad 

 in scope and so general in interest that no one company 

 would be justified in making the necessary expenditures 

 for them. A nmnber of interested concerns, however, 

 will cooperate as a group in financing and supervising 

 such investigations. They ai'e generally conducted in 

 imiversity, government, or piivate laboratories and are 

 usually concerned with (1) obtaining fundamental 

 scientific and engineering data, (2) the development of 

 test procedures and analytical methods, and (3) to 

 some extent with finding new applications for raw 

 materials. 



Several companies may also engage in a cooperative 

 research program directed toward the development of 

 a new product, a new process, or a raw material. Most 

 of the joint activities of this nature are earned on by a 

 company and its customers or its suppliers of raw 

 materials and equipment. This is a logical activity as 

 each concern stands to profit from the successful com- 

 mercial utilization of the new product, process, or raw 

 material. Such cooperation is quite general among 

 industrial concerns though it does not often represent 

 a large part of their research activities. It is distinct 

 from sales service or trouble shooting. 



Within the past few years there have been many 

 notable examples of products developed as the result of 

 the joint research efforts of a number of companies. 

 Among these are the sealed beam headlight for auto- 

 mobiles, in the development and production of which a 

 nationally known electrical manufacturing company 

 joined with equally well-known glass, rubber, and other 

 companies. Another is the bullet-resisting tire, recently 

 announced by the Ordnance Department of the United 

 States Army, which has been a cooperative develop- 

 ment of such major rubber companies as Firestone, 

 Goodrich, Seiberling, Goodyear, and United States 

 Rubber. 



Many companies which carry on research cooperate 

 with imiversities. Such cooperation generally involves 

 either (1) fundamental scientific studies in the general 

 fields of the company's interests, or (2) specific investiga- 

 tions with definite objectives and of a nature directly 

 related to the operations of the company. The 

 industrial concern usually provides only the funds for 

 the work while the university provides the research 

 facilities, personnel, and supervision. Fundamental 

 scientific studies are generally set up as fellowships for 

 students working for advanced degrees. Specific in- 

 vestigations usually require full-time trained personnel 

 and administration with frequent reports to and con- 



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