12. Characteristics of Projects and Companies that Participate in ATP Joint Ventures

Joint ventures funded by the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) differ in size, composition, and focus. ATP funds research joint ventures in all technology areas. As few as two companies may collaborate to form a joint venture, and companies that partner in joint ventures range from tiny start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations. The Survey of ATP Joint Ventures explores the characteristics of joint ventures and factors leading to project success. The 397 for-profit companies that responded to this survey represented all 142 ATP-funded joint ventures that began between 1991 and 2001. Whether viewed from a project or company perspective, the survey respondents closely represented the characteristics of all ATP joint ventures.

Project Characteristics

Project size: Almost three quarters of the projects represented in the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures included between 2 and 5 partners (see Figure 12.1).

• Only 8% of the projects represented in the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures included 11 or more partners.
• Universities and nonprofit organizations were included in the overall count of the number of joint venture partners.
• 40% of the projects represented in the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures included at least one nonprofit joint venture partner, as compared to 39% for all ATP joint venture projects.

Figure 12.1 - Distribution of joint venture projects by number of Joint Venture partners

Amount of ATP award: Most Joint Ventures receive $5 million or less (see Figure 12.2).

• Over half of the projects represented in the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures received an ATP award of under $5 million.
• The average ATP award for the projects represented in the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures was $6.3 million

Figure 12.2 - Distribution of joint venture projects by amount of ATP award

Technology area: Most joint venture projects were either Chemistry & Materials projects or Electronics & Photonics projects (see Figure 12.3).

• Three in ten of the joint venture projects represented by survey respondents were Chemistry & Materials projects, and another 3 in 10 were Electronics & Photonics projects.
• One in ten joint venture projects was in Biotechnology, and one in eight was in Information Technology.

Figure 12.3 - Distribution of joint venture projects across technology areas

Project age: 80% of projects represented in the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures began between 1994 and 1999 (see Figure 12.4).

• Nearly half of the respondents began their joint venture projects between 1994 and 1996.
• Three out of ten of the projects began between 1997 and 1999.

Figure 12.4 - Distribution of joint venture projects across start year

Length of time since the project ended: 75% of the projects represented in the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures closed their projects between 1998 and 2003 (see Figure 12.5).

• Three out of four respondents closed their projects between 1998 and 2003.
• One in ten projects was still active, or recently closed, at the time of survey administration.

Figure 12.5 - Distribution of joint venture projects by project end year

Project duration: The majority of the projects represented by the respondents lasted 4 to 5 years (see Figure 12.6).

• Almost two in three projects represented by the respondents lasted 4 to 5 years.
• More than one in three participated in projects lasting 2 to 3 years.

Figure 12.6 - Distribution of joint venture projects by project duration

Company Characteristics

Company size: Four in ten respondents to the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures represented large companies¹ (see Figure 12.7).

• More than a third of the respondents to the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures represented small companies.
• Less than one quarter of the respondents to the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures represented medium-size companies.

Figure 12.7 - Distribution of joint venture projects by project end year

R&D budget: Over half of respondents to the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures represented establishments with an R&D budget of $10 million or less (see Figure 12 8).

• The average R&D budget across all company respondents was close to $10.5 million.

Figure 12.8 - Distribution of joint venture projects by project end year

Number of R&D employees: Over half of the respondents to the Survey of ATP Joint Ventures represented establishments with 50 or fewer R&D employees (see Figure 12.9).

• The median number of R&D employees for this group was 35.

Figure 12.9 - Distribution of joint venture respondents by the number of R&D employees in the respondent’s establishment

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Note: Only statistically significant results are reported in this publication.

1. For ATP, small companies have fewer than 500 employees, large companies are Fortune 500 companies, and medium size companies are all others.

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Date created: August 2, 2006
Last updated: September 1, 2006

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