Open Innovation Strategy at the University of Utah

In the new millennium, University is likely to play an essential role both as an educational institution and as a main driver of the regional development. Opening the university boundaries to enrich its accumulated resources and absorptive capacity is a crucial tool to enhance the universityʹs social contribution and to participate effectively in national development. The main aspects in a university Open Innovation strategy are creation and implementation of transferable new knowledge and behavior of actors in that process. This study provided the case-study of the University of Utah as an obvious model of the successful implementation of Open Innovation strategy. A qualitative research approach (case-study) was applied to create an in-depth understanding of the university strategy and its implementation stages. On-line semi-structured interviews have been used to identify comprehensive and analytical understanding of the strategy components. This study provided a comprehensive Open Innovation model that allows university senior managers and boards to Open Universityʹs boundaries to internal and external ideas. This strategy helps in formulating and enriching the universityʹs innovation ecosystem.