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The evolving roles and structures of university-affiliated energy and environment institutes
Guess, Megan Colorado School of Mines. Payne Institute for Public Policy Clough, Gregory Bazilian, Morgan
Guess, Megan
Colorado School of Mines. Payne Institute for Public Policy
Clough, Gregory
Bazilian, Morgan
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2018-10
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Abstract
The landscape of energy and environment-focused research institutions is varied and fragmented. It is not always clear what works for an institution and what doesn’t. Rarely do these organizations communicate or coordinate on a long-term basis, with the exception of some specialized, donor-funded partnerships among two or three specific institutions. And yet these institutions, which are often anchored to academia, are some of the most important vectors of innovation in the global energy industry. They provide thought-leadership, feed students and fellows into industry and government, and drive the next generation of energy and environment development in the US and abroad. A closer look at 35 prominent energy, environment, and natural resources institutes offers valuable insight into the mission, visibility, and effectiveness of research-tied organizations. This paper provides a non-comprehensive attempt to classify and characterize these institutes by funding, governance structure, affiliates, and output. Output is a particularly important aspect of an institute’s success: it defines how that institute is seen by the public, and whether it is able to attract notable fellows, funding, and staff. This paper does not seek to judge an institute on its operational effectiveness or influence--instead our intention is to map the space to offer a better understanding of which needs are being met and which are underserved. Finally, we propose a network initiative among these institutions, and to define what kind of coordination would have an acceptable costbenefit ratio to most institute leaders.
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