Georgia State University issued the following announcement on Dec. 17.
Increased collaboration among Atlanta’s universities and hospitals — Eds and Meds — would greatly increase new research, spur startups and improve health practices for residents. It would also spawn more job and economic development opportunities in industries that, with over 340,000 positions, already make a larger contribution to the metro Atlanta economy than all of its Fortune 500 headquarters, according to a new study by Sam Williams at Georgia State University.
For the report “Atlanta Eds and Meds: Collaboration or Competition,” Williams looks at 15 of the metro area’s 62 colleges and universities and its nine major hospital brands that account for more than 90 percent of the region’s capacity. It includes his analysis of proprietary institutional data and more than 125 interviews conducted with Atlanta university and healthcare stakeholders.
“While other industry clusters including supply chain, financial technology and film have a robust industry partnership where competitors work as a team to grow jobs and lobby for support, Atlanta’s Eds and Meds are not among best-practice cities for this ‘co-opetition,’” said Williams, assistant director for external relations for the Urban Studies Institute at Georgia State. “Best-practice cities have a robust collaboration for specific research between universities and hospitals. Several cities have created a ‘Grand Plan’ where local governments and Eds and Meds actively collaborate and share assets to create innovation districts that foster startup ventures.”
Atlanta’s Eds and Meds got a glimpse of what collaboration can achieve with their participation in Operation Warp Speed, the federally funded initiative to develop COVID-19 testing procedures and vaccines. A Grand Plan best practice would expand this collaboration further, encouraging local governments and Eds and Meds to develop and execute written agreements among themselves, committing to investment, collaboration and the creation of innovation districts where Eds and Meds and private companies operate in research and corporate buildings.
The report offers proposals to significantly increase collaboration and the value of the Eds and Meds sector to the Atlanta economy, suggesting:
- Public health agencies, hospitals and public health schools develop a strong working relationship, learning from the current pandemic and preparing for the next crisis.
- State and local governments and chambers of commerce recognize Eds and Meds as a business cluster, with a significant increase to state investment to the Georgia Research Alliance.
- Local governments and regional economic development entities create a Grand Plan to develop and maintain a formal agreement with the region’s Eds and Meds leaders.
- Hospitals and universities that have not joined existing collaborations be invited to join them, without demands that they share research or clinical practices across the board.
- Highly respected organizations, such as the Georgia Research Alliance, the Global Health Crisis Coordination Center or a new group help Eds and Meds leaders expand collaboration.
Source: Georgia State University
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