Research on institutional innovation mechanisms of agricultural experiment stations at US land-grant universities:Taking the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station as an example
[Objective]Education,science and technology,and talent are fundamental and strategic pillars supporting technological self-sufficiency and self-improvement.Originally focused on agriculture,land-grant universities(such as the University of Florida and the University of California,Davis)have evolved into world-class comprehensive institutions.An indispensable component of the"Teaching-Research-Extension"agricultural system of these universities is the agricultural experiment station.These stations hold a pivotal role in the US agricultural research ecosystem,emphasizing agricultural production practices and combining education with extension services.At the national level,the strategic mission of the agricultural experiment stations includes enhancing the competitiveness of American agriculture,advancing the American economy,strengthening national food security,improving citizens'nutrition and well-being,and protecting natural resources and the environment.At the state level,their responsibilities extend to increasing farm income,supporting the local agricultural economy,and providing agricultural education to the public.At the institutional level,these stations need to conduct research that directly impacts local agricultural issues,support faculty research activities,conduct fundamental scientific research,and generate intellectual property income for universities.Despite their importance,domestic research on US agricultural experiment stations has been limited.Most studies focus on the broader US agricultural innovation system and land-grant universities from a macro perspective,leaving a significant gap in understanding the organizational systems and operational characteristics of specific US agricultural experiment stations.[Methods]The Florida Agricultural Experiment Station(FAES)was selected as a representative case owing to its significant contributions to the University of Florida's agricultural discipline and the state's agricultural industry.This study employs various methodologies,such as policy text analysis,literature review,bibliometrics,and inductive translation,to summarize the patterns and characteristics of FAES.The analysis focuses on the funding system,talent team building,intellectual property operations,and the innovation system.[Results]FEAS demonstrates several notable characteristics.First,the funding system combines stable funding with multiple inputs.Second,there is a strong emphasis on cultivating and utilizing young scientific and technological talent aiming to produce top-tier professionals.Third,FAES operates under a dual intellectual property transformation system featuring a dual royalty distribution model managed by the OTL and FFSP.Finally,the innovation system strengthens intradisciplinary interaction and interdisciplinary collaboration.[Conclusions]Based on the institutional innovations of the FEAS mechanism,we proposed the following four recommendations.First,it is essential to emphasize investment system guarantees and focus on local industrial development.In addition to guaranteeing forward-looking and strategic basic and social research through a stable system,efforts should be directed toward cultivating and supporting industry-oriented scientific research institutions in regions with limited financial support and talent supply capacity.This approach will enable these regions to respond to industrial problems or major challenges effectively,thereby fueling the economic engine.Second,a sustainable talent support plan and a comprehensive mechanism for the early cultivation of first-rate innovative and basic research talents should be established.The goal is to target strategic emerging industries and leverage platforms such as the National Strategic Science and Technology Force Platform to cultivate strategic scientists and leading teams independently.A particular focus should be placed on supporting young science and technology talents under the age of 40 or PhD graduates with high development potential.Third,it is necessary to innovate institutional mechanisms to achieve a fair distribution of benefits and sustainable funding of scientific research.Finally,it is recommended to establish an open innovation cooperation network.This network should carry out interdisciplinary,cross-domain,cross-unit and cross-regional talent exchange,technology cooperation,and integrated application.Facilitating the free flow and efficient allocation of resources will help promote the deep integration of industry,academia,research,and application,ensure the organic connection between upstream,midstream,and downstream activities,and implement compliant and orderly distribution of benefits for collaborative cooperation models.
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