science park

A science park is a property development designed for a concentration of high tech, science, or research related businesses. The definition of a science park is not entirely clear, but typically businesses and organizations in the parks focus on product advancement and innovation as opposed to industrial parks that focus manufacturing and business parks that focus on administration. Often, science parks are associated with or operated by institutions of higher education (colleges and universities). Science parks are found all over the world, but are mostly concentrated in developed countries; over 140 are found in North America alone. Prominent examples include the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan and the Cambridge Science Park in England.

There are many approximate synonyms for "science park", including research park, technology park, technopolis, and biomedical park. The appropriate term typically depends on the type of science and research in which the park's entities engage, but many of these developments are named according to which term gives the park the best profitability and naming advantages. These parks differ from typical high-technology business districts in that science parks and the like are more organized, planned, and managed.

The Cabral Dahab Science Park Management Paradigm, first presented by Regis Cabral as ten points in 1990, has been influential in the management of science parks around the world and lays down the following conditions for a property development to be considered a science park. According to the management paradigm, a science park must:

1. Have access to qualified research and development personnel in the areas of knowledge in which the park has its identity.
2. Be able to market its high valued products and services.
3. Have the capability to provide marketing expertise and managerial skills to firms, particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, lacking such a resource.
4. Be inserted in a society that allows for the protection of product or process secrets, via patents, security or any other means.
5. Be able to select or reject which firms enter the park. The firm's business plan is expected to be coherent with the science park identity.
6. Have a clear identity, quite often expressed symbolically, as the park's name choice, its logo or the management discourse.
7. Have a management with established or recognised expertise in financial matters, and which has presented long term economic development plans.
8. Have the backing of powerful, dynamic and stable economic actors, such as a funding agency, political institution or local university.
9. Include in its management an active person of vision, with power of decision and with high and visible profile, who is perceived by relevant actors in society as embodying the interface between academia and industry, long-term plans and good management.
10. Include a prominent percentage of consultancy firms, as well as technical service firms, including laboratories and quality control firms.

The Association of University Research Parks (AURP), a non-profit association made up of university-affiliated research parks, defines university research and science parks as a property-based venture, which has certain characteristics, of which include:

1. Master planned property and buildings designed primarily for private/public research and development facilities, high technology and science based companies, and support services.
2. A contractual, formal or operational relationship with one or more science/research institutions of higher education.
3. A role in promoting the university's research and development through industry partnerships, assisting in the growth of new ventures and promoting economic development
4. A role in aiding the transfer of technology and business skills between university and industry teams A role in promoting technology-led economic development for the community or region.

According to the AURP, the park may be a not-for-profit or for-profit entity owned wholly or partially by a university or a university related entity. Alternatively, the park may be owned by a non-university entity but have a contractual or other formal relationship with a university, including joint or cooperative ventures between a privately developed research park and a university. ^[1][2]

The International Association of Science Parks explains that the purpose of these parks is to promote the economic development and competitiveness of cities and regions by creating new business, adding value to companies, and creating new knowledge-based jobs. ^[3]

See also

• List of research parks
• Business cluster
• Cluster development
• Business incubator

References

• Cabral, R. and Dahab, S. S. (1993) 'Science Parks in Developing Countries: The Case of BIORIO in Brazil'. In Biotechnology Review No. 1: The Management and Economic Potential of Biotechnology, vol. 1, pp. 165-178.
• Echols, A. E. and Meredith, J. W. (1998) 'A Case Study of the Virginia Tech Corporation Research Centre in the context of the Cabral-Dahab Paradigm, with Comparison to Other US Research Parks', Int. J. Technology Management, Vol. 16, pp. 761-777.
• Cabral, R. (1998) 'Refining the Cabral-Dahab Science Park Management Paradigm', Int. J. Technology Management, Vol. 16, pp. 813-818.
• Cabral, R (ed.) (2003) The Cabral-Dahab Science Park Management Paradigm in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas, Uminova Centre, Umeå, Sweden.
• Cabral, R. (2003) 'Development, Science and' in Heilbron, J. (ed.), The Oxford Companion to The History of Modern Science, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 205-207.

External links

• International Association of Science Parks
• Smartpark Research and Technology Park

Donate to Wikimedia