Science park
Encyclopedia
A research park, science park, or science and technology park is an area with a collection of buildings dedicated to scientific research on a business footing. There are many approximate synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...

s 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. Often, science parks are associated with or operated by institutions of higher education (college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

s and universities).

These parks differ from typical high-technology business districts in that science parks and the like are more organized, planned, and managed. They differ from science centres in being concerned with future developments in science and technology. Typically businesses and organizations in the parks focus on product advancement and innovation as opposed to industrial park
Industrial park
An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...

s that focus on manufacturing and business park
Business park
A business park or office park is an area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. All of the work that goes on is commercial, not industrial or residential....

s that focus on administration.

Besides building area, these parks offer a number of shared resources, such as uninterruptible power supply
Uninterruptible power supply
An uninterruptible power supply, also uninterruptible power source, UPS or battery/flywheel backup, is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source, typically mains power, fails...

, telecommunications hubs, reception and security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...

, management offices, restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

s, bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

 offices, convention center
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...

, parking
Parking
Parking is the act of stopping a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied for more than a brief time. Parking on one or both sides of a road is commonly permitted, though often with restrictions...

, internal transportation, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...

 and sports facilities, etc. In this way, the park offers considerable advantages to hosted companies, by reducing overhead costs with these facilities.

Science and technology parks are encouraged by local government, in order to attract new companies to towns, and to expand their tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

 base and employment
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...

 opportunities to citizens. Land and other taxes are usually waived off or reduced along a number of years, in order to attract new companies for the science and technological parks.

History

The world's first university research park started in the early 1950's near Stanford University, and foreshadowed the community known today as Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...

.
Another early university research park was, and is, Research Triangle Park.

While parks vary widely in size and shape, from urban high-rises to suburban or rural locations, a typical American university research park is located in a suburban community with a population of less than 500,000 and is operated by a university or a university-affiliated non-profit organization. The companies in a typical park are primarily private sector, but the park is also home to university and government facilities.

Sharing of ideas

In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Pierre Laffitte
Pierre Laffitte
Pierre Laffitte was a French positivist.Laffitte was born at Béguey . Residing at Paris as a teacher of mathematics, he became a disciple of Auguste Comte, who appointed him his literary executor...

, the mastermind and founder of Sophia Antipolis Science Park
Sophia Antipolis
Sophia Antipolis is a technology park northwest of Antibes and southwest of Nice, France. Much of the park falls within the commune of Valbonne. Created in 1970-84, it houses primarily companies in the fields of computing, electronics, pharmacology and biotechnology. Several institutions of higher...

 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, described the concept of cross fertilization as the interchange between different cultures or different ways of thinking that is mutually productive and beneficial; "the cross-fertilization of science and the creative arts" not only in terms of economic, but also on a social and cultural level. He applied this concept for the creation of Sophia Antipolis science park. In 1960, the French newspaper Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...

published an article written by Senator Pierre Laffitte titled "Le Quartier Latin aux Champs," partly inspired by observations made while visiting the United States, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, the U.K., and France, his theory was that creativity is born through the exchange between industrial, scientific, philosophical, and artistic minds.He decided to apply the concept in France, thus the Sophia Antipolis Science Park.

Science parks are sources of entrepreneurship, talent, and economic competitiveness, and are key elements of the infrastructure supporting the growth of today's global knowledge economy. By providing a location in which government, universities and private companies cooperate and collaborate, science parks create environments that foster collaboration and innovation. They enhance the development, transfer, and commercialization of technology.

A new model, which is strategically planned mixed-use campus expansions, is emerging and involves shared space in which industry and academic researchers can work side by side. These university-affiliated mixed-use campus developments are not simply real-estate ventures. They embody a commitment by universities to partake in broader activities, offering companies high-value sites for accessing researchers, specialized facilities, and students, and promoting live-work-play environments. Key features of these mixed-use developments include space for significant future research growth; multi-tenant facilities to house researchers and companies; and housing, along with other amenities which are attractive to young faculty, post-doctoral and graduate students.

Science parks are also being developed to leverage the assets of non-university research and development organizations such as federal laboratories. In addition to universities, major medical research centers and other research organizations can be key drivers of technology-based economic development. It is becoming increasingly common for communities in which a federal laboratory is located to create a science park to leverage laboratory resources to realize economic development.

Federal laboratories attract companies that wish to leverage the expertise of the laboratory researchers and to gain access to highly specialized, and often unique, facilities and equipment. Science parks can also provide a location for start-up companies created to commercialize technology developed in the labs.

Launching new companies

University research and science parks provide the launch pad that startup companies need when they are "spun out" from a university or company. Park-provided training in such areas as intellectual property law and business planning help the fledgling businesses to succeed. Universities, in turn, benefit by exposure to the business world, and the connection to the cutting-edge research being conducted outside their walls in industry. What all these parks have in common is that they are, at heart, knowledge partnerships that foster innovation.

The typical park provides a range of business startup assistance to its client companies, which are often small startups based on innovative new ideas from university or private sector researchers. The park has an operating budget of less than $1 million a year. Because it is designed as a non-profit entity, the park itself does not generate significant net revenue. 750 people work at jobs there, primarily at information technology companies, pharmaceutical firms, or scientific and engineering service providers. These sorts of companies provide 45 percent of all science park jobs.

Today more than 300,000 workers in North America work in university research parks. According to the AURP-Battelle Technology Practice report, released in October 2007, every job in a research park generates an average of an additional 2.57 jobs in the economy. Science parks are succeeding in incubating and growing companies. According to the Battelle report, nearly 800 firms graduated from park incubators in the past five years, while only thirteen percent failed. About one-quarter of these graduates remain in their park. Fewer than ten percent of the graduates left the region.

Examples

University research and science parks are found all over the world, but are mostly concentrated in developed countries
Developed country
A developed country is a country that has a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue...

; over 140 are found in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 alone. Prominent examples include the Purdue Research Park
Purdue Research Park
The Purdue Research Parks are a network of four research parks located in Indiana, United States. The flagship West Lafayette park is located less than north of Purdue University's West Lafayette campus, and is the largest university-affiliated research park in the United States. The other...

 in West Lafayette, Indiana
West Lafayette, Indiana
As of the census of 2010, there were 29,596 people, 12,591 households, and 3,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,381.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 17.3% Asian, 2.7% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.03% Pacific...

, Hsinchu Science Park
Hsinchu Science Park
Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park is an industrial park established by the government of the Republic of China on December 15, 1980 with investment from the Kuomintang. It straddles Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County on the island of Taiwan....

 in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, The Research Triangle Park
Research Triangle Park
The Research Triangle Park is a research park in the United States. It is located near Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill, in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina...

 in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, NanKang Software Park
Nankang Software Park
The Nankang Software Park or Nangang Software Park 南港软件区 is located in the 87-hectare Nangang Trade and Economic Park.-Location:The Nankang Software Park is located on east side of Taipei City. The park is accessible by three highways, one expressway, two MRT lines, the train, five commuter buses,...

, Cambridge Science Park
Cambridge Science Park
The Cambridge Science Park, founded by Trinity College in 1970, is the oldest science park in the United Kingdom. It is a concentration of science and technology related businesses, and has strong links with the nearby University of Cambridge....

 and NETpark
Netpark
NETPark or North East Technology Park is a science park in County Durham, England.The park is built the site of the former Winterton Hospital and is home to several high-tech companies specialising in fields such as nanotechnology, X-Ray technology, forensics and semiconductor technology...

 in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Daedeok Innopolis in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

.

Centennial Campus at North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

 is a case in point. In the 1980s, pressure for space at the main North Carolina State University (NCSU) campus in Raleigh led to exploration of nearby options, including substantial holdings by the state mental-health system and the Diocese of Raleigh on 1000 acres (4 km²) surrounding the old
Lake Raleigh Reservoir. Starting in the 1980s, the land was conveyed to NCSU in stages, and serious planning began with the appointment of a former dean of the university's School of Design to the position of campus coordinator.

Sandia Science and Technology Park, the NASA Research Park
NASA Research Park
NASA Research Park is a research park run by NASA which aims to develop a world-class, shared-use research and development campus in association with government entities, academia, industry and non-profit organisations. It is situated in near San Jose, California. It began in 1939 as Ames Research...

 at Ames, and the Tri-Cities Science and Technology Park located close to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is one of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington....

 are examples of research parks that have been developed by or adjacent to federal laboratories. Another example is the East Tennessee Technology Park at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...

.

Other examples of U.S. science parks are the Cummings Research Park
Cummings Research Park
Cummings Research Park, located primarily in the city of Huntsville, Alabama is the second largest research park in the United States, and the fourth largest in the world. The Research Triangle Park in North Carolina is the only research park in the United States that is larger. Cummings Research...

 in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....

, and the University of Wisconsin Research Park in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

. Begun in 1962, Cummings today is home to 285 companies which employ over 25,000 employees.

Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 is one of the developing countries that has strongly encouraged the establishment of technology parks and business incubators, mostly for budding small high tech
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...

 companies. Several dozens of such parks are now in existence. In the state of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

, the state government has sponsored a technology park program for several cities which have a strong high tech base, such as São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 City, Campinas
Campinas
Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....

, São José dos Campos
São José dos Campos
São José dos Campos is a municipality and a major city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil and one of the most important industrial and research centers in Latin America. It is located in the Paraíba Valley, between the two most active production and consumption regions in the country, São Paulo ...

 and São Carlos
São Carlos
São Carlos is a city of 221,950 inhabitants in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is located at , at about 231 km from the city of São Paulo.-History:...

. These cities have strong research universities, such as the University of São Paulo
University of São Paulo
Universidade de São Paulo is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious...

, State University of Campinas, Federal University of São Carlos
Federal University of São Carlos
The Federal University of São Carlos , also known as UFSCar, is a public research university located in São Carlos, state of São Paulo, Brazil.-Background:...

, pure and applied research institutes and high technology companies, such as Embraer
Embraer
Embraer S.A. is a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and executive aircraft and provides aeronautical services....

, one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world. Campinas also boasts the largest number of high-tech business incubators and industrial parks (a total of eight), such as the CIATEC I and II, Softex, TechnoPark, InCamp, Polis, TechTown, Industrial Park of Campinas and others. Because of this Campinas has been dubbed the Brazilian Silicon Valley
Brazilian Silicon Valley
Brazilian Silicon Valley is a term commonly applied to the region of Campinas and in southern region this term is applied for Florianópolis city, Brazil because of its similarity to the 'original' Silicon Valley, located in California in the USA....

.

Management

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.

Research parks exist to enhance collaboration between academia, industry and government.

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.

The Cabral Dahab Science Park Management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

 Paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...

, 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 patent
    Patent
    A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

    s, 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
    University
    A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

    .
  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
    Academia
    Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...

     and industry
    Industry
    Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

    , long-term plans and good management.
  10. Include a prominent percentage of consultancy
    Management consulting
    Management consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....

    firms, as well as technical service firms, including laboratories and quality control firms.

External links

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