a. Explore how to best foster innovation in the State through public-private partnerships in higher education;

b. Stimulate academic-industrial collaboration through such mechanisms as business incubation facilities and clinical research and clinical trials;

c. Identify and support research opportunities at New Jersey academic institutions and other institutions that can advance economic development and employment;

d. Facilitate collaborations between businesses and institutions of higher education, with a greater emphasis on research and development in the pharmaceutical, biosciences, biotechnology, medical technology, information technology, and telecommunications industries;

e. Identify and support opportunities for partnerships between institutions of higher education and pharmaceutical, biosciences, and biotechnology companies that can accelerate the commercialization of new therapies, drugs, and technologies;

f. Identify strategies to significantly increase the number of clinical trials conducted by public and independent institutions of higher education in the State;

g. Identify the workforce and economic development needs of the State and strategies for meeting those needs;

h. Study the current roles of the four-year public and independent institutions of higher education, the county colleges, and the county vocational school districts in meeting and advancing the workforce and economic development needs of the State, and make recommendations on improving the role of each of these sectors in advancing these needs; and

i. Provide the Governor, and the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C. 52:14-19.1), with a report by January 30 of each year describing the status of the commission’s activities and the efforts of the ombudsman pursuant to section 6 of this act.

L.2017, c.17, s.4.