  Scholars and policy makers recognize that collaboration between industry and
the public research institutions is a necessity for innovation and national
economic development. This work presents an econometric model which expresses
the university capability for collaboration with industry as a function of
size, location and research quality. The field of observation is made of the
census of 2001-2003 scientific articles in the hard sciences, co-authored by
universities and private enterprises located in Italy. The analysis shows that
research quality of universities has an impact higher than geographic distance
on the capability for collaborating with industry. The model proposed and the
measures that descend from it are suited for use at various levels of
administration, to assist in realizing the "third role" of universities: the
contribution to socio-economic development through public to private technology
transfer.
