METHODOLOGIES FOR STRENGTHENING INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES (COUPLING WITH INDUSTRY)

After consultation with concerned missions and an international review panel to be established, and in cooperation with the World Association of Industrial and Technical Research Organizations, a limited number of IRI"s will be awarded matching grants ranging from $50,000-$100,000. These project-oriented grants will provide for the application of known technologies to transform specific research results into commercially viable activities and to introduce new products or processes. The recipient institutes will represent technical, economic, and commercial interests and will be located in major industrial areas of the developing world, including Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria. Specific guidelines, objectives, and matching grant requirements will be defined early in the project"s first year. Criteria for selection will include the institute"s competence, stability, and possession of long-range plans; the existence of national industrialization policy and planning and of an active industrial community; and interest on the part of the latter and financial sponsors to collaborate. A U.S. research institute will be contracted to provide technical assistance and monitor project implementation. Advisory services will include visiting institutes to determine priority needs; developing specific patterns of IRI-industry collaboration; and addressing special reseach projects and organizational and fiscal problems unique to LDC institutes. Annual executive training courses will also be given in the U.S. for senior IRI personnel. Examples of successful collaboration between IRI"s and industries will form the basis for guidelines for use elsewhere. During the project"s final year, regional seminars will be held to disseminate project results, guideliens, reports, and case histories to governmental and industrial personnel.