Strategic Alliances Strategies and Processes 

Benchmarking Study 

June 2009 

NASA Johnson Space Center 

Space Life Sciences Directorate 

Advanced Planning Office 
Strategic Alliances Strategies and Processes 


Benchmarking Study 


June 2009 

Prepared by: 

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Elizabeth E. Richard Steven A. Gonzalez 

Senior Strategist, Wyle Deputy, Advanced Planning Office 

Approved by: 

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Director, Space Ufe Sciences Manager, Advanced Pfanning Office 

.Jerrrey R. DavIs, MD 

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Page 2 of 20 
Table 	of Contents 

1.0 Executive Summary ................................................................................................. 4 


2.0 Background..............................................................................................................4 


3.0 Approach ................................................................................................................. 5 


4.0 Key Findings, Critical Success Factors, and Best Practices ..................................... 7 


4.1 Key Findings ............................................................................................................ 7 


4.2 Critical Success Factors ........................................................................................... 7 


4.3 Best Practices .......................................................................................................... 8 


4.3.1 	 Strategies and Planning for Successful Alliances ...................................... 8 


4.3.2 	 Processes and Practices for Identifying and Evaluating Potential Partners 


and Establishing Alliances ........................................................................ 9 


4.3.3 	 Best Practices for Managing and Maintaining Productive Alliances ......... 11 


5.0 Recommendations ................................................................................................. 15 


5.1 Recommendations for the Johnson Space Center ................................................. 15 


5.2 Recommendations Specific to the Space Life Sciences Directorate ....................... 16 


Attachment 1: Benchmark Participants ................................................................................ 17 


Attachment 2: Strategic Alliances Benchmarking Criteria .................................................... 18 


Attachment 3: References ................................................................................................... 19 


Attachment 4: Benchmark Analysis: Key Findings by Participant Category ......................... 20 


Page 3 of 20 
1.0 Executive Summary 

An essential component of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) vision and the Space Life 

Sciences Directorate (SLSD) Strategy is the creation of alliances and collaborations to drive 

innovation. To best position the Center and the Directorate to successfully engage in these 

partnerships, the SLSD and JSC Advanced Planning Office jOintly conducted a benchmark 

to assess how best to identify, establish, and manage alliances. The best practices and 

critical success factors presented in this report demonstrate how various organizations 

effectively use alliances and collaborations to achieve their strategic goals. 

All benchmark participants use alliances and collaborative opportunities to facilitate and 

improve the quality of innovation, enhance their portfolios by supplementing internal core 

capabilities with external capabilities, and remain competitive. Alliances may also be 

leveraged to address risk sharing, financial, and knowledge management challenges. 

Creating a culture that promotes collaborative innovation is essential to developing and 

managing successful alliances. Senior management commitment is critical to establish this 

collaborative culture and drive effective alliance strategy. The strategic approach should 

include establishing a unifying vision for the organization, aligning the alliance strategy with 

the organizational strategy, and clearly defining alliance objectives and processes. 

Additional factors critical to success include creating a unifying vision for the partnership 

with clear, common objectives; recognizing and emphasizing the importance of 

communication, trust, and relationship management; developing and implementing a 

deliberate process to analyze gaps, identify and evaluate prospective partners, and 

manage the alliance; and creating an infrastructure with dedicated resources for alliance 

support. 

Recommendations for effective alliance development and management for the Center 

include developing a JSC alliance strategy; broadly communicating the strategy and 

encouraging a culture that embraces teamwork, inclusion, and relationship management; 

and promoting the value of a JSC portfolio that balances externally acquired capabilities 

with internal core capabilities. 

The JSC strategy should address alliance management processes and support systems; a 

recognition and reward system that values both collaborative innovation and individual 

accomplishments; evaluation and implementation of collaborative innovation methods and 

techniques; and facility development. 

In addition to implementing Center strategies and processes, the Space Life Sciences 

Directorate will develop and execute a deliberate system for pursuing life sciences alliances 

and collaborative innovation opportunities; create and encourage a culture where 

calculated risks are embraced; and enhance communication of the directorate and alliance 

strategies and collaborative innovation successes internally, and human system portfolio 

gaps externally. 

Page 4 of 20 

. ---_.._----- -_. . .. ­
2.0 Background 

"One man may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these 

distinctions. Only from the alliance ofthe one, working with and 

through the other, are great things born." 

Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

The vision for the Johnson Space Center (JSC), as stated by the Center Director, Mike 

Coats, is to "Lead the International Community in the Human Exploration of Space." An 

essential component of the JSC leadership is tied to our ability to create alliances, 

collaborations, and partnerships. While the majority of collaborations established in the 

past have been to leverage capabilities within the Center for an external organization, JSC 

now seeks to build new partnerships and leverage resources outside the Center in pursuit 

of its vision. 

The Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) identified establishing alliances as key to 

driving innovation in its May 2007 Strategy. This approach is aimed at creating a balanced 

portfolio which supplements internal core capabilities with externally acquired resources 

and capabilities to most effectively and effiCiently achieve its mission of optimizing human 

health and productivity for space exploration. 

3.0 Approach 

The purpose of this benchmark, a joint SLSD and JSC Advanced Planning Office effort, is 

to assess best practices in identifying, establishing, and maintaining alliances to inform the 

creation of alliance strategies for the Center and the Directorate. Identification of potential 

partners and collaborative innovation opportunities is a secondary goal. Benchmark 

results presented in this report demonstrate how various organizations use strategic 

alliances and collaborations to facilitate innovation and achieve their goals. 

Benchmark participants are presented in Attachment 1. This group was down-selected 

from a larger group of organizations recognized as leaders in alliance creation and 

management by their peers through professional associations such as the Association of 

Strategic Alliance Professionals, and/or were known to JSC personnel. Representative 

organizations from the corporate, government, and academic sectors were included in the 

study to provide us with a diverse set of best practices from which to draw our 

recommendations. 

To set benchmark partner expectations, guide the benchmark discussion, and assist in 

evaluation of data gathered, categories of alliances best practices and a set of specific 

questions for each category were developed and are presented in Attachment 2: 

Benchmark Criteria. This benchmark criteria matrix was developed on the basis of a 

literature review and personal interviews (see Attachment 3: References). A detailed 

analysis of key findings/responses by benchmark participant category is presented as 

Attachment 4, and Section 4.0 summarizes best practices and lessons learned. 

Final recommendations for the Center and specific recommendations for SLSD are 

presented in Section 5.0. These recommendations were drawn from benchmark participant 

Page 5 of 20 
best practices considered to have the best fit with the JSC organization. In addition, 

recommendations were supplemented by the literature, personal interviews, and a Harvard 

Business School MBA student project on Leveraging Collaborative Innovation at NASA 

Space Ufe Sciences (see Attachment 3: References). 

Page 6 of 20 
4.0 Key Findings, Critical Success Factors, and Best Practices 

4.1 Key Findings 

Why collaborate? All benchmark participants use alliances and collaborative 

opportunities to facilitate and improve the quality of innovation, enhance their 

portfolios by supplementing internal core capabilities with external capabilities, and 

remain competitive (whether for profit or to compete for funding). Collaboration and 

alliances may also be used to address multiple additional challenges including: 

• 	 Efficient, cost effective way to find innovative solutions 

• 	 Risk sharing 

• 	 Enhancing capabilities in the face of flat budgets 

• 	 Addressing technical challenges in a rapidly changing environment 

• 	 Market development and growth 

• 	 Leveraging brand name 

• 	 Knowledge transfer 

4.2 Critical Success Factors 

A detailed analysis of key findings/responses by benchmark participant category is 

presented in Attachment 4. Section 4.3 describes benchmark partner best 

practices in strategies and planning for alliances; processes and practices for 

identifying and evaluating potential partners and establishing alliances; and 

managing and maintaining productive alliances. 

Critical success factors for identifying, establishing, and managing best practices in 

priority order may be summarized as: 

• 	 Identifying and managing cultural issues within the organization and with the 

alliance partner-never underestimate the impact of culture on an alliance 

• 	 Senior management commitment and support 

• 	 Creating a unifying vision for both partners, aligning alliance strategy with 

organizational strategy, and clearly defining goals and objectives 

• 	 Recognizing and emphasizing the importance of communication, trust, and 

relationship management 

• 	 Conducting annual planning that includes a strategy/gap analysis to provide 

the basis for identifying and evaluating potential alliances and new products 

• 	 Using a deliberate process for identifying and evaluating prospective 

partners and developing an optimal alliance agreement 

• 	 Establishing a win-win agreement with clear guidance regarding reviews and 

follow-up 

• 	 Creating an infrastructure with dedicated resources to identify, establish, and 

manage alliances 

• 	 Some organizations also recommended: 

o 	 Establishing individual performance planning incentives, and aligning 

incentives between the partnering organizations 

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o Using metrics to evaluate alliance success and improve alliances 

processes o Co-locating internal groups in different divisions and providing state-ofart facilities to effectively attract collaborators and encourage 

partnerships o Soliciting annual survey and critique of the alliance by the partner 

4.3 Best Practices 

4.3.1 Strategies and Planning for Successful Alliances 

Key to planning and executing successful alliances and collaborations is embedding 

the alliances strategy into the overall strategic planning process of the organization. 

The more integrated this process is, the more adept the organization becomes at 

identifying the right partners, efficiently and effectively establishing the alliance, and 

successfully managing a productive partnership. 

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast" 

Charles O'Reilly 

Stanford Business School 

Benchmark participants universally agreed that the most critical aspect to 

developing and managing successful alliances is creating a culture that promotes 

collaborative innovation, and further emphasized that senior management 

commitment and support is essential to establishing this collaborative culture and 

driving effective alliance strategy. 

To optimize the value of alliances, the strategy should include a unifying vision for 

the organization, aligning the alliance strategy with the organizational strategy, and 

clearly defining alliance objectives. A key question to ask during the planning cycle 

is "can we get there faster with a partner than by ourselves?" Addressing how to 

manage cultural issues and relationships are critical components of the strategy. It 

is recommended that alignment of the alliance plan with division/business 

unit/sector strategy and objectives be periodically reviewed to assess consistency 

and address issues. 

The annual planning process must also include a gap analysis of core 

capabilities/core competencies to provide the basis for identifying and evaluating 

potential alliances and new products or research deliverables. Most organizations 

use a mix of internal experts and external consultants to identify gaps and assess 

opportunities to achieve the most informed and objective outcome. 

The ability to effectively develop and manage alliances is considered to be a core 

competency by many organizations with successful alliances, and managing the 

alliance is generally considered to be the most challenging competency. 

Development and support of these capabilities should be addressed in the alliance 

strategy. 

Once an alliance opportunity and partner have been identified, the resulting 

collaboration plan must reflect a win-win arrangement where the benefits to both 

Page 8 of 20 
parties are identified. For the agreement to be successful, a very clear set of 

objectives consistent with the overall strategy should be specified and assessed 

periodically. The deal can be strengthened significantly by inviting the partner to 

jointly develop the collaboration plan. 

Establishing a performance plan that defines how an individual, team, and the 

organization contribute to collaborative innovation and the overall strategy, and that 

rewards those who engage in collaboration, is important. In addition, incentives 

between the two partnering organizations should be aligned. For research 

organizations, embracing a culture that promotes collaborative discovery and 

innovation, encouraging self-formed collaborations and data sharing, and valuing 

and rewarding collaboration more than individual publications optimizes innovation. 

4.3.2 Processes and Practices for Identifying and Evaluating Potential 

Partners and Establishing Alliances 

Thorough preparation is key to identifying the best partner and establishing an 

effective alliance. The strategic alliance process should be used to understand the 

need for partnerships, select the right partners, and design an optimal partnering 

model. Specific best practices and processes for identifying and evaluating 

potential partners and establishing alliances vary among benchmark participants, 

but all agree that having dedicated resources to accomplish these tasks greatly 

facilitates the process and contributes to the success of the resulting partnership. 

Benchmark participants use a variety of methods to identify prospective partners to 

address gaps and meet strategic objectives, including: 

o 	 proactive outreach using internally or externally provided databases 

o 	 person to person contact based on personal relationships 

o 	 person to person contact through meetings held at partnering conferences 

and association or other national/international meetings 

o 	 employing dedicated scouts who are part of a competitive intelligence 

department to find new opportunities 

o 	 using a relational database customized to collect information on prospective 

opportunities and partners 

o 	 advertising gaps/needs/alliance opportunities through websites, proposal 

solicitations, and development and licensing meetings held specifically for 

this purpose 

o 	 providing facilities/campuses designed to attract and facilitate collaborative 

innovation 

a 	 using web-based technology/service providers to look for entities for 

collaboration, and mapping who and what technologies are in the 

marketplace 

o 	 targeting prospective alliance partners through a compiled list of specialists 

o 	 evaluating unsolicited opportunities received from potential partners 

It is recommended that prospective partners be assessed on multiple dimensions 

including strategic, cultural, operational, and brand fit. Strategic fit, including having 

a common vision, values, principles, and goals are of particular importance, while 

differences in culture can be leveraged and embraced if properly addressed. 

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Each partner should be able to bring something to the table that the other 

organization does not have to complement internal core capabilities. As previously 

mentioned, the agreement must be win-win-an alliance will only be successful if 

there is significant value creation for both parties. 

It is important to address principles of alliance management when discussions with 

prospective partners are first initiated, including principles for decision making and 

how to resolve issues that may arise. Building trust so that each partner feels 

comfortable with the other and understands and supports the alliance goals is 

critical. Partners must be willing to share sensitive information, and be able to admit 

what they don't do well for the strongest alliance to be developed. 

Best practices for establishing a successful alliance include: 

o 	 Establishing a deliberate process for identifying and evaluating prospective 

partners. 

o 	 Involving the right people, and including people at all levels: those with 

decision making authority are essential. Additionally, direct management, 

executive sponsorship, discipline experts/project managers, and a dedicated 

team of lawyers who are determined to make the alliance work. 

o 	 Building the relationship from the start: partners must treat each other as 

equals and acknowledge expectations and cultural differences. Tough 

negotiations can result in solid relationships, therefore it is important to 

remember that eagerness to cooperate weakens the negotiation position, 

and over-promising reduces the chance of success. 

o 	 Creating a win-win strategy: identify the key principles of cooperation prior to 

the formal negotiation. A common strategic vision and definition for success 

is critical. Partners should agree on the scope and time horizon; align 

strategic objectives, risk, rewards, and incentives; and discuss termination. 

Some organizations establish a joint steering committee to carry out these 

tasks. 

o 	 Defining responsibilities and obligations for alliance participants at all levels, 

including a process for dispute resolution. 

Best practices specific to research applications include: 

o 	 Using a mixed model approach to fund research that includes both traditional 

proposal solicitations and collaborative methods. 

o 	 Employing collaborative innovation techniques such as the Sand pit process 

(a forum where a diverse group of scientists from a range of disciplines 

immerse themselves in a collaborative process aimed at developing 

innovative solutions and preparing research proposals) to facilitate 

innovation. 

o 	 Involving the widest community possible through the use of the 

Crowdsourcing Model, which uses an undefined, generally large group of 

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people or community in the form of an open call to perform a task, or other 

techniques based on the notion of simultaneous discovery. 

o 	 Soliciting input from top scientists to help identify potential synergistic 

technologies/innovations for a particular theme. 

o 	 Involving scientific liaisons/technical experts to coordinate the scientific 

assessment and evaluate whether the opportunity is best pursued as a 

collaborative or an internal effort. 

4.3.3 Best Practices for Managing and Maintaining Productive Alliances 

Successful alliances require effective planning, active follow-through, and 

management at all levels and stages of the process. Clear guidance for reviews 

and follow-up in the alliance agreement is essential. Optimally, alliance capabilities 

are completely integrated in a deliberate process that addresses strategies, tools 

and processes; alliance champions; management and support organizations; and 

best practices including metrics. 

The three most common reasons identified by benchmark participants for failed 

alliances are differences in culture that are not adequately addressed, breakdowns 

in communication resulting in lack of trust, and incompatible objectives between 

partners. Effective process management, communications and relationship 

management, and organizational support are critical to successfully addressing 

these challenges. 

Process Management 

Key elements of the management phase include managing the alliance according to 

the collaboration plan, evaluating alliance performance against objectives, 

assessing the success of the partner relationship, effectively addressing issues that 

arise, and identifying potential risks and follow-on opportunities. Including one or 

more managers on the management team that had been involved in the 

establishment phase will facilitate a smooth transition to operations. 

As previously mentioned, benchmark participants identified addressing cultural 

issues, and doing it early and often, as critical to creating and managing successful 

alliances. Internally this requires acknowledging that no one organization can 

knoW/discover everything itself, eliminating the "not invented here" syndrome, 

establishing a collaborative culture, and communicating the benefits of collaborative 

innovation throughout the organization. 

Equally important is addressing the cultural differences between the collaborating 

organizations. This does not translate to trying to change the culture of either 

partner. What is needed instead is development and execution of a plan aimed at 

understanding, managing, and leveraging these differences to ensure a productive 

and successful alliance. 

Because the effectiveness of the organization and the success of alliances depend 

heavily on the involvement and support of senior management, a management 

Page 11 of 20 
review of plans, milestones, and the status of alliances and key alliance deliverables 

should be conducted on a regular basis. This review should address strategy (is the 

alliance achieving its strategic goals?), finance (is the alliance meeting its financial 

metrics?), operations (are alliance operations working as planned?), and 

relationships (are relationships helping or hindering the alliance, and how can they 

be maintained or improved if necessary?). 

To successfully manage an alliance there must be a balance between trust and 

control, and a well-developed governance system with representatives from both 

parties to achieve this balance. When strategies are aligned and objectives have 

been jOintly defined, partners can work together productively and avoid the need for 

separate dispute resolution processes. Maintaining an acute awareness of 

obligations, addressing them early, and anticipating needs optimizes alliance 

management. 

Periodic assessment of the success of the partnership and identification of areas for 

improvement was recommended by most benchmark participants. Various 

approaches included conducting periodic internal exchanges regarding alliances 

lessons learned, using an internal confidential survey tool customized for each 

alliance to identify opportunities for improvement, surveying how partners view the 

success of the alliance, and providing annual (or more frequent) training on alliance 

capabilities. 

Some organizations use the Bell Mason Framework 

(http://www.bellmasongroup.com/frameworkl) to manage and evaluate alliances. 

This methodology involves a stage-gated framework and rules-based methodology 

for managing risk and charting the course for new initiatives, and for the 

organizational structure that manages broader innovation initiatives including 

alliances. 

Communication and Relationship Management 

"Trust comes by foot and goes by horse" (one ill advised email 

can disrupt an entire alliance) 

A benchmark partner 

All alliances are personal and all take time. Mistrust and poor communication can 

doom an otherwise promising partnership. Benchmark participants agree that 

communication and relationship management are critical components in 

establishing and maintaining successful alliances. A strong focus on relationships, 

communicating openly and with candor, having mutual respect, and agreeing upon 

processes and who has decision rights from the start are essential. 

Effective communication is also important to understanding differences between the 

partners and making an effort to address them to make the alliance work. Some 

organizations build in social time/activities to encourage collaboration between 

partners, and/or conduct periodic conferences to engage stakeholders and assure 

their needs are being met. 

To successfully maintain an alliance from an intemal perspective, it is very important 

to communicate early and througt"lOut the process to avoid conflicts with existing 

Page 12 of 20 
organizations, and ensure all understand that the partnership is a benefit and not a 

competition. Holding internal town hall meetings for idea sharing, communication of 

plans, soliciting feedback, publicly celebrating collaborative successes, and actively 

seeking new ways to enhance existing strategic alliances encourages a 

collaborative culture. 

Lastly, relationships should not be based upon a single point of contact, it is 

recommended that they be spread throughout the organization at all levels so that if 

principle contacts change, the organization can transition and continue to sustain 

the alliance. It is important to build both executive links and a contact network so 

that there are multiple touch points in the relationship to create a cohesive alliance. 

Organizational Support and Infrastructure 

A significant barrier to forming and managing alliances is a lack of dedicated 

resources to successfully bring two different groups together and manage the 

differences in strategies, processes, and organizations. Often the people involved in 

alliances also have day to day jobs and are tasked to work on the alliance in 

addition to these responsibilities; a dedicated alliance support function can be 

essential to success when this is the case. 

In addition to facilitating internal integration and providing needed capabilities, 

dedicated alliance resources can improve knowledge management within the 

organization and enhance external visibility. 

Benchmark partners differed in how they structured dedicated resources; some 

used a centralized function, others employed a distributed model, and some used a 

hybrid approach. However, all agreed that dedicated support resources are critical 

to effectively establishing and managing alliances regardless of the organizational 

structure. Further, most offered that having a dedicated set of lawyers who are 

invested in trying to figure out how to make the alliance work is the most important 

factor from a resource perspective. 

Various models include: 

o 	 A centralized support infrastructure that may involve safety, quality, legal, 

and a pool of resources for special projects, and a dedicated operations 

team to execute alliances. 

o 	 A distributed structure with an alliance integration leader who is responsible 

for integrating support and technical/business entities, managing the 

collaboration relationship, and ensuring adherence to the alliance 

agreement. 

o 	 A dedicated alliance management group to manage the alliance relationship 

and oversee compliance with the agreement, with a project management 

group to handle the day to day activity and manage the technical 

relationships. 

o 	 A multi-functional alliance office that provides resources to support alliance 

development and management across the organization, including developing 

and improving alliance capabilities, providing alliance expertise and 

Page 13 of 20 
experience, engaging directly with managers and/or technical experts to 

develop alliances, and assessing and communicating best practices. 

Multiple benchmark partners also cited the use of facilities as an important factor in 

attracting collaborators and encouraging partnerships. Co-locating partners and/or 

prospective collaborators and providing state-of-the-art facilities with intentionally 

large work spaces eliminates boundaries and forces sharing, which encourages 

collaboration and stimulates innovation. 

Page 14 of 20 
5.0 Recommendations 

Recommendations for effective alliance development and management for the 

Center and the SLSD based on benchmark participant best practices and 

recommendations are presented in the sections below. 

5.1 Recommendations for the Johnson Space Center 

• 	 Develop a JSC Alliance Strategy which establishes a culture of collaborative innovation, 

guides alliance pursuits, and defines alliances goals and objectives to address the 

following elements. 

• 	 Demonstrate senior leadership commitment by broadly communicating the strategy, 

encouraging a culture that embraces teamwork, inclusion, and relationship 

management, and promoting the value of a JSC portfolio that balances externally 

acquired capabilities with internal core capabilities. 

• 	 Establish alliance management processes for: 

o 	 Aligning alliance, Center, and direct line organization (DLO) strategies 

o 	 Developing and assessing achievement of management goals specifically 

related to collaboration and innovation 

o 	 Conducting gap analyses of strategies/core capabilities to identify 

opportunities for alliances and collaborations using a mix of internal experts 

and external consultants 

o 	 Streamlining existing partnership agreement processes and developing new 

alliance agreement models 

o 	 Assessing, developing, and improving alliance capabilities and processes, 

including metrics for achieving both alliance goals and alliance progress 

(leading indicators) 

o 	 Interacting/seeking approval with NASA Headquarters as required 

• 	 Create alliance management and support functions which provide dedicated resources 

to effectively select, hire, and develop people to establish and manage alliances using a 

hybrid approach which includes: 

o 	 A centralized office for core functions: legal, technology transfer, business 

development, organizational development (including training), alliances 

development, and communication 

o 	 Decentralized support in DLOs for technical capability, champions, 

relationship management 

o 	 Assessment of partnerships with other NASA centers and/or hiring contract 

partners as a preliminary step 

• 	 Create a recognition and reward system that values both collaborative innovation and 

individual accomplishments, and identify alliances capabilities, relationship 

management, and collaborative innovation as core competencies. 

• 	 Evaluate various collaborative innovation methods and techniques to determine optimal 

models for JSC applicability, for example: 

o 	 Enhanced innovation watch (matching problem solvers with portfolio gaps) 

o 	 Expanded incentive prize offerings 

o 	 Increase transparency/improve communication of innovation needs/gaps 

Page 15 of 20 
• 	 Consider facility development 

o 	 Innovation center/technical campus arrangements such as with University of 

California on the NASA ARC site 

o 	 Co-location of expertise 

5.2 	 Recommendations Specific to the Space Life Sciences 

Directorate 

In addition to the Center-wide recommendations presented above, the following activities 

and best practices are recommended for the SLSD. 

• 	 Develop and execute a deliberate system for pursuing life sciences alliances and 

collaborative innovation opportunities 

o 	 Conduct a research and technology development (R&TD), operations, and 

process gap analysis, and map to collaboration modes that best suit the 

SLSD strategy and capabilities 

o 	 Evaluate the success of collaborative innovation techniques employed by 

other R&TD organizations (Sand pit, Crowdsourcing, etc.) 

o 	 Seek funding for open collaboration pilot projects 

• 	 Create and encourage a culture of teamwork where calculated risks are embraced 

o 	 Identify and address cultural, organizational, and functional silos 

o 	 Develop and manage two cultures 

• 	 Parent organization, risk averse, "failure is not an option" 

• 	 New organization, risk tolerant, "fail forward, fail fast, fail often" 

• 	 Enhance promotion of SLSD strategy, alliance strategies, and collaborative innovation 

successes internally, and human system portfolio gaps externally 

• 	 Create a recognition and reward system aligned with the Space Life Sciences Strategy 

that values both collaborative innovation and individual accomplishments 

Page 16 of 20 
Attachment 1: Benchmark Participants 

Corporate participants 

o 	 Baxter Healthcare 

o 	 GE Healthcare 

o 	 Genentech, Alliance management and Portfolio Planning 

o 	 Google 

o 	 Merck Research Laboratories 

o 	 Philips, Corporate Strategies and Alliances 

o 	 Wyeth Pharmaceuticals 

Government agencies/other NASA centers 

o 	 National Institute of Standards and Technology 

o 	 National Science Foundation, Biological Sciences Directorate 

o 	 NASA Ames Research Center1 

• 	 Office of the Center Director, Institutions and Management 

• 	 Office of the Center Director, University R&DI University Affiliated Research 

Center 

• 	 New Ventures and Communications Directorate 

• 	 Space Biosciences Division, Science Directorate 

• 	 Earth Science Division, Science Directorate 

• 	 NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division 

• 	 Aeronautics Test Program 

Academic institutions: 

o 	 University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute 

o 	 University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 

Northrop Grumman, Business Development; DARPA, Space and International Support 

Activities; and the European Space Agency, Washington, DC Office were also targeted 

as benchmark partners. However, interviews conducted with each indicated that they 

did not actively pursue or manage external alliances to achieve goals. Since the intent 

of the benchmark was to assess alliances best practices, their responses were not 

addressed in the report or included in Attachment 3: Benchmark Analysis: Key Findings 

by Participant Category. 

• 	 Northrop Grumman primarily engages in traditional procurement relationships 

rather than collaborative partnerships. 

• 	 DARPA generally does not pursue partnerships to achieve their mission of 

investing in the development of high-risk, high-payout technologies. 

• 	 ESA alliances strategies and best practices are aimed primarily at maintaining 

relationships within the ESA alliance rather than achieving strategic goals. 

1 While a total of seven NASA Ames Research Center offices were interviewed, they are considered 

to be one organization in the final tally of Attachment 4: Key Findings by Benchmark Participant 

Category. The Center's alliance philosophy was developed and promoted from the top down and 

was consistent among all offices interviewed. 

Page 17 of 20 
--

Attachment 2: Strategic Alliances Benchmarking Criteria 

Goal: To capitalize on strategic alliances best practices and lessons learned to effectively leverage external resources and expertise for achieving NASA's 

goals for human space exploration 

Strategies for establishing Processes and practices for 

alliances identifying and evaluating 

potential alliance partners 

and establishing alliances 

1. Why are alliances 

important to you? 

2. What was the strategy 

and motivation behind 

your decision to pursue 

a particular alliance? 

3. How do you balance 

between the pursuit of 

company strategies with 

the unexpected 

requests for alliances 

from other 

organizations? 

4. How do you map the 

alliance strategy to the 

corporate strategy? 

5. What is the linkage 

between the corporate 

strategy organization 

and the alliance 

organization? (are they 

one and the same 

organization?) 

1. Do you have a different 

process for alliances 

created for access to 

technology, extending 

corporate capabilities. 

extending market access 

or political purposes? 

2. How do you determine the 

scope of an alliance (what 

is included/not) What is 

most valuable when you 

establish an alliance? 

3. How do you identify 

prospective partners? 

4. What criteria do you use 

for selecting potential 

partners? 

5. What do you value the 

most when you choose a 

partner? (is it one thing or 

case dependent?) 

6. How do you determine how 

much to invest in this 

process? 

7.00 you have a specific 

group assigned to do this? 

8. Are alliances identified 

established and 

maintained at various 

levels of the organization? 

9. Did you need to change 

your culture to establish 

this alliance? 

Best practices for managing 

and maintaining productive 

alliances 

1. 	How do you balance the 

economics of alliances 

with the political, cultural, 

organizational, human 

considerations? 

2. 	How do you make your 

alliance succeed? 

3. 	What do you think is 

most valuable to 

maintaining an alliance? 

4. 	How does the alliance 


get embraced by all 


levels of the 


organization? 


5. 	Did you need to change 

your culture to maintain 

this alliance? 

6. 	What are the most 

demanding elements of 

an alliance? 

7. 	What is the process for 

making decisions in an 

alliance re: new issues? 

8. 	What are your criteria for 

success? 

9. 	Why do alliances 


succeed / fail? 


10. 	Do you have a different 

process for maintaining 

alliances depending on 

the purpose for which 

they were created? 

Best practices for 

identifying and 

implementing new ways 

to work together in an 

established alliance 

1. Do you try to find new 

ways to yield 

benefits/create new 

value in eXisting 

alliances? 

2. How do you do this 


(approach)? 


3. How do you manage 

relationships among 

various alliances/ 

partners? 

Ways for creating and 

managing expectations for 

alliances with NASA 

1 . Have you worked with 

NASA and/or other 

federal agencies in an 

alliance (or otherwise)? 

2. How do other 

organizations perceive 

NASA as a prospective 

partner? 

3. What can NASA do to 

create a favorable 

environment for 

establishing alliances? 

4.Who else would you 

recommend that we 

benchmark with on this 

topic? 

- .... -.. -~ .....-.-~

-~ 

Page 18 of 20 

I 
--.-~ 

Attachment 3: References 

1. 	 Garg, Vivek, Dave Munichiello, and Rich Urman, "Leveraging Collaborative 

Innovation at NASA Space Life Sciences," Harvard Business School MBA Project, 

2009. 

2. 	 Pisano, Gary P., and Roberto Verganti, "Which Kind of Collaboration Is Right for 

You?" Harvard Business Review, 2008. 

3. 	 Gomes-Casseres, Benjamin, personal interview, Feb 2008. 

4. 	 Lahkani, Karim R., and Jill A. Panetta, "The Principles of Distributed Innovation," 

Research Publication No. 2007-7, The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at 

Harvard Law School, Oct 2007. 

5. 	 Hughes, Jonathan, and Jeff Weiss, "Simple Rules for making Alliances Work," 

Harvard Business Review, 2007. 

6. 	 Huston, Larry and Nabil Sakkab, "Connect and Develop: Inside Procter &Gamble's 

New Model for Innovation," Harvard Business Review, Mar 2006. 

7. 	 Bamford, James D., Benjamin Gomes-Casseres, and Michael S. Robinson, 

"Mastering Alliance Strategy, A comprehensive Guide to Design, Management, and 

Organization", 2003. 

8. 	 Dyer, Jeffrey H., Prashant Kale, and Harbir Singh, "How to Make Strategic Alliances 

Work," MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 42 No.4, Summer 2001. 

9. 	 Moss Kanter, Rosabeth, "Collaborative Advantage: The Art of Alliances," Harvard 

Business Review, July-August, 1994. 

Page 19 of 20 

---... 
Attachment 4: Benchmark Analysis: Key Findings by Participant Category 

The following elements, in priority order, were identified by benchmark participants as critical to 

attracting partners and successfully managing alliances2

• 

1. 	 Identifying and managing cultural issues (both within the organization and addressing 

the partner's culture) 

o 	 100% of participants 

2. 	 Support of senior management 

o 	 100% of participants 

3. 	 Aligning alliance strategy and goals with corporate/institution strategy and conducting a 

gap analysis to target collaboration opportunities 

o 	 100% of participants 

4. 	 Emphasizing communication, trust, and relationship management 

o 	 100% of participants 

5. 	 Establishing a win-win agreement 

o 	 100% of corporate participants 

o 	 66% of government agencies 

o 	 0% of academic institutions 

6. 	 Providing infrastructure/dedicated resources to identify, establish, and manage alliances 

o 	 100% of corporate participants 

o 	 33% of government agencies 

o 	 100% of academic institutions 

7. 	 Providing clear guidance regarding reviews and follow-up of alliance agreement 

o 	 100% of corporate participants 

o 	 0% of government agencies 

o 	 50% of academic institutions 

8. 	 Employing an active search/scouting mechanism to identify prospective partners 

o 	 80% of corporate participants 

o 	 33% of government agencies 

o 	 100% of academic institutions 

9. 	 Co-locating and providing state-of-art facilities to effectively attract collaborators and 

encourage partnerships 

o 	 40% of corporate participants 

o 	 66% of government agencies 

o 	 50% of academic institutions 

10. Using metrics to evaluate alliance success and improve alliance processes 

o 	 80% of corporate participants 

o 	 0% of government agencies/NASA centers: 

o 	 50% of academic institutions 

2 The seven NASA Ames Research Center offices interviewed are considered to be one organization 

Page 20 of 20