Collaboration with Industry
A great deal of interest was expressed
at the workshop about how the chemical societies can improve their relationship
with the chemical industry. The concern is two-fold, involving an interest
both in how industry can contribute to the sustainability of the societies
and in how the societies can become more relevant to industry. A consensus
emerged that the best way to realize the former goal was by achieving
the latter.
Several industry-relevant activities
in which the societies could engage more aggressively were suggested during
workshop discussions, and are enumerated below:
- Commercial bioprospecting: Societies may wish
to encourage and participate in consortia with government, industry,
and university representatives to share expertise and help set the
policy agenda;
- Technology incubators: There may be a valuable
role for the societies to play in facilitating the "laboratory
to marketplace" transfer of new products and processes;
- Synthesizing compounds: It was suggested that
the societies might play a role in identifying compounds that are
needed in their countries as part of an import substitution strategy,
and in brokering relationships between the industries that can use
the compounds and the university students (for example) who can synthesize
them;
- Job matching: Here the societies could play
an important information clearinghouse role that would serve both
chemists and industry;
- Holding meetings and issuing publications
on applied chemistry for industry;
- Offering short courses to train people in
chemical practices of immediate pragmatic interest to industry;
- Information centers: The chemical societies
may be able to do more in terms of becoming "fountains of information"
with regard to a wide range of matters, including educational standards,
chemical regulations, natural products research, intellectual property
rights matters relating to bioprospecting, and who is doing what in
terms of both research and industry;
- Awards: This is an area that some of the societies
are already involved in, and one that could possibly be expanded.
Awards can be given to researchers for notable research as well as
to private sector concerns for good chemical practices; and
- Regular reports: Another aspect of this role
as information broker is in reporting on chemistry-related news, e.g.,
through a regular electronic newsletter (plans for which have in fact
been launched as a direct product of the workshop).
