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MetroLab Network in USA, includes 41 cities, 4 counties, and 55 universities, organized in more than 35 regional city-university partnerships. Partners focus on research, development, and deployment (RD&D) projects that offer technological and analytically-based solutions to challenges facing urban areas including: inequality in income, health, mobility, security and opportunity; aging infrastructure; and environmental sustainability and resiliency.
In the website of MetroLab Network there are then principles for successful city-University partnerships. The principles are the following, and further description of them can be found on https://metrolabnetwork.org/metrolabnetwork.org/primer
For Mayors & University Presidents, Provosts
1. Embrace the idea of the city as a “living lab’.
2. Formalize a partnership between your city and university.
For cities
3. Assign a lead point-of-contact at the city who is responsible for managing the innovation partnership.
4. Identify problems that need to be solved and opportunities for innovation by conducting an internal review of city agencies and by surveying constituents for their areas of importance, concern, and frustration.
For universities
5. Assign a lead point-of-contact at the university who is responsible for managing the innovation partnership.
6. Survey faculty and students for interest in working on urban science matters.
Executing on Research, Development, and Deployment
7. Find the intersection between city priorities and university expertise.
8. Arrange regular, predictable, monthly meetings between the city and university points-of-contact at which they track progress on existing RD&D efforts and identify new opportunities.
9. In addition to seeking Federal, State, and Local governmental support, approach your local business and philanthropic community to support your RD&D efforts, given a shared interest in improving quality of life in the city.
10. Engage local community groups as partners to ensure that projects have their support and include their feedback.
Metrolab Network: A city-university collaborative for urban innovation https://metrolabnetwork.org/