AURP and NACRO Launch Partnership to Foster Communities of Corporate Innovation 

The new partnership’s goals include collaboration at each organization’s annual conference and on special projects to spur increased university-industry research, tech transfer and commercialization

Tucson, AZ, and College Park, MD, October 24, 2024 – AURP, the leading nonprofit representing research parks, innovation districts and regional technology clusters, today announced the launch of a strategic partnership with the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO).

With this partnership, AURP and NACRO will collaborate to leverage the intersections of people, topics and issues common to each organization to spur new work in university research, university-corporate relations, technology transfer and technology commercialization.

“I’m delighted AURP and NACRO will work together across a range of focused activities to ignite action on our common goals of bringing universities and companies together to drive tech-based innovation,” said Vickie Palmer, AURP CEO. “The Association will partner with the NACRO team in support of our united high-impact networks helping university corporate relations officers build and maintain strong relationships across their campuses to connect with their industry partners.”

As part of this work, AURP and NACRO will co-develop white papers, research reports and conference sessions, and co-presentations for each organization’s annual conferences, including the AURP 2024 International Conference (Nov. 11-14) and the NACRO Annual Conference (July 15-17, 2025). Both organizations also will establish a joint webinar series to highlight each organization's membership experts and leaders in the university-based and industry innovation communities. 

"NACRO is excited to partner with AURP and its global Community of Innovation," said Joseph Huang, NACRO Co-Vice President and Executive Director of Strategic Research Initiatives in Computer Science at Stanford University. "By working together, we will generate value for members for both of our organizations. We will encourage corporate relations officers to work with place-based officers working at research parks and innovation spaces, we will bring a larger offering to our corporate tenants and members, and we will improve by adopting best practices found in each other’s organizations."

AURP focuses on creating and building communities of innovation with education for research parks, innovation districts, tech hubs, accelerators and the companies that support the research park industry. AURP and its global membership promote research, institute-industry relations and innovation districts to foster innovation and to facilitate the transfer of technology from such institutions to the private sector. AURP recently released a report highlighting the growing importance of corporate-funded research to universities and other communities of innovation.

NACRO provides professional development opportunities that enable corporate and academic professionals to develop and advance comprehensive, mutually beneficial relationships between industry and academia. NACRO also serves as the leading organization for establishing common metrics and documenting best practices for success in the field of academic corporate relations. 

About NACRO:
The Network for Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO) was founded in 2007 to serve as a professional development community for individuals working in higher education and tasked with facilitating collaboration with industry. Over time, the organization has grown and now includes members from industry as well as higher education. Our network of over 550 U.S. and international academic corporate relations officers are dedicated to providing professional development opportunities and sharing best practices. Members develop and advance comprehensive, mutually beneficial relationships with industry and establish common language and metrics for peer comparison. Learn more: www.nacrocon.org

About AURP:
AURP is a non-profit international organization with offices in the Washington, D.C. area at the University of Maryland Discovery District; headquarters at the University of Arizona’s Tech Parks Arizona in Tucson; and an office in Northern California. AURP focuses on creating communities of innovation and education for research parks, both operating and planned, plus innovation districts, incubators, accelerators and the businesses that support the research park industry. AURP and its global membership promote research, institute-industry relations and innovation districts to foster innovation and to facilitate the transfer of technology from such institutions to the private sector. Learn more: www.aurp.net

Media Contacts:
Jenna Brown
Director of Operations
NACRO
[email protected]

Ken Berlack
Communications/Public Relations
AURP
[email protected]