The University of California has always played a key role as a center of innovation and technology development. By attracting research funds, enhancing employment and productivity, and producing business spinoffs, UC has been instrumental in the success of some of the world’s most dynamic regional economies in the world, from Silicon Valley and Bay Area biotech to telecommunications in Southern California.

UC contributes to innovation through two primary pathways: research-and-development activities that enhance both labor and capital productivity; and technology transfers and business spinoffs that carry UC discoveries into the marketplace. Both impacts have proven very beneficial to California.

UC Research Expenditures
UC research expenditures in California reflect the regional economies of which they are a part, confirming the positive dynamic between UC campuses and industry clusters. Davis and Riverside expenditures are concentrated in agriculture. UC’s San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles campuses concentrate research in biosciences; while Santa Barbara and Berkeley have the highest share of research expenditures related to information technology.

In addition to their direct impact on employment and output, UC’s research expenditures also play an important role in improving productivity through innovation. Between 2002-11, UC research is expected to be the major source of productivity gains totaling $5.2 billion and more than 104,000 new jobs in California.

Tech Transfer and Business Start-Ups:
Inventing California’s Economy
The economic and social benefits derived from UC innovations and knowledge are greatest when that research can be quickly used by private industry and put into practical applications and products for the office and home. Private firms recognize the value of the UC system by contributing financial resources for research. In 2000-01, UC entered into over 2,600 agreements with industry valued at over $216 million. Many of these cutting-edge technological R&D projects are often in fields directly related to the knowledge industry clusters and thus amplify many of the productivity gains arising from UC research expenditures.

In addition to this collaborative research, UC is also an important generator of ideas and technologies, which can be measured in part by the reporting of inventions created by UC researchers with university resources. UC campuses have collectively generated over 2,600 such invention disclosures.

As the foundation for start-up firms, many technologies developed in the UC system also serve as an important engine for economic growth. More than 160 companies have been founded on the basis of UC technology licensing agreements. An estimated 65% of these firms are in fields directly related to the bioscience cluster – biotechnology, genomics, pharmaceuticals and drug development.

And these start-up figures do not include all the firms started by UC professors, students and alumni. UC faculty and graduates have founded 1 in 4 biotech firms in California (and 1 in 6 nationwide), and 85% of California biotech companies employ scientists and engineers with advanced degrees from UC in key R&D positions.

Tech Transfer at UC
Office of Technology Transfer
Technology Licensing Opportunities
UC-Industry Partnerships
California Institutes for Science and Innovation
Biotech and Genomics Research
Agricultural Research
Counting California (a wide range of state economic data)
Economic Impact Research on UC Partnerships and Education