Science and Technology Parks
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Science and Technology Parks, including business incubators, have become a well-established economic development strategy for communities and countries, and a distinct type of real estate development.
In today's global economy, it is vital for nations and regions to maintain their competitiveness. A major factor in this is the development of innovative products and services, which in turn depends significantly upon the efficiency of the transfer of technology from academic and research institutions into industry. Many industrialized nations now talk of a "knowledge-based economy". Science and Technology Parks are one means to facilitating the growth of these industries.
Many of these Science and Technology Parks operate with a direct connection to local universities, relying upon local university expertise to exploit opportunities in such cutting-edge new scientific fields as computer chips, bioinformatics, photonics, information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, optoelectronics and a host of other technologies. The dominant sciences and technologies in Science and Technology Parks are Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals, Software/Information Technology, followed by computers/electronics, and then Aerospace/Defense.
Most of the Science and Technology Parks operating today were created in the 1990's, but a great number have been created in just the last five years. Without question these Science and Technology Parks erve as an important mechanism for stimulating technology transfer, the formation and growth of high-tech entrepreneurial start-ups, regional economic development, and revenue for firms and universities.
Science and Technology Parks are now operating in every region of the world, with new forms and implementation mechanisms emerging with the next wave of development. Specialist firms are now in place that develop and operate Science and Technology Parks in multiple locations, leveraging relationships and expertise across multiple sites. Representatives of Science and Technology Parks are reaching out to "sister facilities" in other world region's seeking to foster strategic alliances and further competitive advantage.
Defining a Science and Technology Park
There are numerous definitions of the term "science and technology park." A formal definition for science parks has been framed by the International Association of Science Parks (IASP): A Science Park is an organization managed by specialized professionals, whose main aim is to increase the wealth of its community by promoting the culture of innovation and the competitiveness of its associated businesses and knowledge-based institutions.
To enable these goals to be met, a Science Park stimulates and manages the flow of knowledge and technology amongst universities, R&D institutions, companies and markets; it facilitates the creation and growth of innovation-based companies through incubation and spin-off processes; and provides other value-added services together with high quality space and facilities.
Clearly, an important aspect of this definition is that Science and Technology Parks provide an environment where larger and international businesses can develop specific interactions with a particular center of knowledge-creation for their mutual benefit.
We note that such other organizations as United Kingdom Science Park Association (UKSPA), the Association of Universities Related to Research Parks (AURRP), the Association for Technology and Business Incubation Center (ADT), and the U.S. National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) have offered related definitions for research parks, innovation centers, incubators, and the like, each of which are singular elements in an overall Science and Technology Parks framework.
History of Science and Technology Parks
Science and Technology Parks were originally an American phenomenon dating back to the 1950s, and were devised to meet the needs of entrepreneurial-minded academics.
These initial Science and Technology Parks saw the opportunity to commercially exploit their own areas of technology, yet wanted to remain close to their academic institutions, which formed the source of further invention and of trained graduate manpower.
The Science and Technology Parks movement in the U.K. started in 1971 with the formation of Parks at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland and at Cambridge University. These "pioneer" Science and Technology Parks were both established by their respective academic institutions. Initiatives throughout the rest of Europe commenced at roughly the same time.
During the last twenty years, Science and Technology Parks initiatives have been promulgated in the balance of world regions, seen as a primary vehicle for economic development. In most instances, initiatives have also been motivated out of a desire for communities and countries to stay competitive as the world increasingly evolves towards a knowledge-based economy.
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