The way it works now, companies often hire scholars under the title of consultants first. That prevents them from being exposed to too many "commercial secrets" and enables the two sides to become familiar with each other's thinking and methods of operations before formally entering into a research plan. This sort of approach is particularly common in sensitive high-tech industries.
目前的情況，業者通常是先請學者以顧問的名義指導研發，一方面免得他們涉入太多的「商機」；另一方面學者和業者彼此都在熟悉對方的做事方法與觀念，等到雙方都認為時機成熟了，才正式完全投入研究計畫，這種合作方式尤其是在涉及敏感的高科技產業最常見。