A permanent, ongoing relationship between the technical writing faculty at Ohio State University (OSU) and the technical writing staff at Battelle Memorial Institute, the world's largest independent research and development laboratory, holds advantages for both. Four formal programs of cooperation currently exist: Battelle staff members serve as guest lecturers in OSU technical writing classes, the Battelle Proposal Writing Center is committed to hiring OSU technical writing students as interns, members of the Proposal Center staff grade and comment on a single set of student-written reports for each OSU faculty member interested in participating, and students enrolled in the basic OSU technical writing course have an opportunity to tour Battelle's Columbus laboratories. Informal interaction has included a one-time Battelle seminar on writing, a jointly sponsored lecture series, and a two-day conference for high school teachers on technical writing. Through such a relationship, OSU teachers gain confidence that what they are teaching is representative of what students will be required to do, and Battelle personnel have an up-to-date source of information on writing theory. (Suggestions for developing a similar program are included.) (TJ)