Collaborative research partnerships between universities and Department of Defense (DOD) laboratories are important to national and homeland security missions. From the point of view of the laboratories, university collaborations help them to deliver world-class research while providing the opportunity to develop and grow a talent pipeline. Benefits to universities range from the opportunity to work on cutting-edge problems of national importance to gaining access to specialized research facilities and potential channels for funding. This report examines the current landscape of DOD laboratory-university research partnerships and recommends steps to reduce barriers faced in these undertakings and to increase the number of collaborations between the two entities. The work was informed by structured discussions with members of the research community and research leaders at universities and DOD laboratories. The overarching insights gained from these individuals experience with such collaborative partnerships are: • DOD laboratories seek partnerships that support their missions. The scope and extent of the DOD laboratories' technical collaboration with universities is governed by their mission-based operational needs. Thus, research partnerships are primarily initiated when DOD laboratories see an unmet need and reach out to external experts. A corollary to this is that universities should view the DOD as a customer whose partnerships will be focused in DOD areas of need. Within this context, the onus is on the university to understand the laboratory's research needs, propose ideas for collaboration, and seek ways to improve their visibility to the laboratories. • Currently available mechanisms for long-term partnerships are adequate for DOD needs, but stronger short-term partnership mechanisms are needed. From the perspective of DOD research leadership interviewed for this task, the research partnership agreements that DOD laboratories currently have in place with universities (i.e., the larger and longer term collaborations such as Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, Collaborative Research Agreements/Cooperative Technical Agreements, and University Affiliated Research Centers) are adequate for their needs. This view did not extend to personnel exchanges, educational partnerships, and other short-term agreements, which the DOD research leadership strongly endorsed, and would like to see strengthened. If the goal is to increase the number of long-term and large-scale research partnership agreements between the two communities, DOD's vi Appendix C.