This thesis investigates links between the Environmental Technologies and Services (ETS) sector in the North West of England and the four universities in Greater Manchester. UK government policy has developed over the last 20 years to try and encourage such links in strategic areas of science and technology, and the ETS sector in the North West has been identified as one such area that has the potential to grow. Development of this sector would help both the economic prospects and the general environment of the region. The aim of the thesis is to study the current situation, including the range of collaborations, the types of government funding initiatives and the role of intermediary organisations, and to suggest ways in which such collaboration could be made more effective. It addresses specific research questions that progressively focus on the general features of these linkages between academia and industry, to the regional and environmental aspects specific to the ETS sector in the North West. The work is based primarily on case studies, with additional input from both archival sources and surveys. The case studies have been selected to cover different types of collaboration, the use of formal and informal networking, and the involvement of student projects and training. The analysis has been carried out to identify the separate perspectives of the academic, industrial and government actors involved. Although the analysis does consolidate much of the general literature, some additional points have been raised by this work. These relate primarily to the advantages and disadvantages that the individual parties to the collaborations have identified, and to the general confusion caused by the range of government initiatives. There is also a general view that communication between the academic and industrial sides still needs to be improved so that easier contact can be made between the relevant research and user groups. Several proposals are made which could help to improve the level and effectiveness of collaborative links between the strong science base in the Greater Manchester universities and the extensive range of industrial and commercial companies in the region's ETS sector. Specific suggestions are aimed at each of the university, industry, intermediary and government sectors involved in the overall collaboration process.