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In the globalizing economy, knowledge generation can catalyze local, regional, and national economic development. Governments everywhere face pressures to adapt to this new environment, and universities are recognized as strategic resources. This paper assesses changes in the ideas and actions of stakeholders concerning the role of universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia, focusing on universities operating in a dynamic sub-region in each country. Attention is given to how different levels of government promote or inhibit innovative actions by universities and the organizations they partner with to commercialize research. Efforts to create regional knowledge economies effectively linked to the global marketplace are shown to have generated a range of tensions and dilemmas. The findings presented here highlight themes likely to feature in future debates over policy design and governance arrangements for universities and other strategic public and quasi-public organizations. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]