It’s important for academic corporate relations teams to make efficient use of their resources when managing existing corporate partners and recruiting new ones. As institutions face increasingly complex higher education planning priorities, a strategic approach to corporate engagement is more important than ever. A corporate tiering framework is an excellent tool for achieving this objective.
Corporate tiering is a data-driven approach that helps strengthen university-industry partnerships by understanding how companies contribute to their research, education, and engagement missions, while enabling the institution to allocate greater resources and attention to its most valuable partners. The data used to evaluate corporate relationships should always include financial support, including both philanthropy and sponsored research. A rolling three- to five-year average is recommended to smooth annual fluctuations. Additional factors, such as hiring history, local workforce size, alumni presence, and the breadth of engagement across campus units, may also be incorporated into the analysis.
These data are used annually to rank corporate partners and identify natural clusters. This process also helps improve university industry engagement by providing a shared framework for how corporate relationships are evaluated and managed across the institution. Typically, there is a small group of strategic partners (fewer than ten), a larger group of up-and-coming partners and prospects with existing engagement and significant growth potential, and a broad pool of companies with limited, often one-dimensional relationships with the institution, such as recruiting-focused engagement.
Top-tier relationships should be managed proactively by experienced corporate relations staff and may warrant dedicated account teams of key campus stakeholders. Second-tier companies should also have assigned relationship managers and clearly defined tactical plans designed to deepen engagement and increase support. These practices support strategic planning for universities by aligning corporate engagement efforts with institutional priorities. Third-tier relationships generally require less attention from the corporate relations team and can often be managed effectively by the campus unit with the strongest existing connection to the company.
UI Collab now offers a fixed-price consulting engagement that helps universities develop a corporate tiering framework as part of broader facilitated strategic planning and corporate engagement initiatives. The result is a more coordinated and strategic approach to corporate engagement that can increase corporate support, strengthen key partnerships, improve campus alignment, and ensure that limited staff resources are invested where they can generate the greatest return.
Todd Cleland
UI Collab Consultant