 The university historically pioneered research and training collaborations between academia , industry and government . In 1946 , President Compton , Harvard Business School professor Georges Doriot , and Massachusetts Investor Trust chairman Merrill Grisswold founded American Research and Development Corporation , the first American venture @-@ capital firm . In 1948 , Compton established the MIT Industrial Liaison Program . Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s , American politicians and business leaders accused MIT and other universities of contributing to a declining economy by transferring taxpayer @-@ funded research and technology to international – especially Japanese — firms that were competing with struggling American businesses . On the other hand , MIT 's extensive collaboration with the federal government on research projects has led to several MIT leaders serving as presidential scientific advisers since 1940 . MIT established a Washington Office in 1991 to continue effective lobbying for research funding and national science policy . 
