Abstract
Science and technology parks (STPs) are considered as a kind of public-private partnerships designed to increase regional wealth and technology start-ups growth in developed and/or in developing regions. The main aim of these institutions is to reproduce the successful factors of regional phenomena such as Silicon Valley or Boston's Route 128. These institutions are focused on fostering knowledge flows, mainly among tenant institutions, as well as between tenants and nearby external institutions. The main objective of this chapter is to shed some light in the role of STPs as specialized institutions leveraging knowledge creation and diffusion. First, the origin and evolution are analyzed. Second, the evolution and typology of models of STPs are showed. Finally, conclusions and future research directions will be proposed
TopBackground
STPs were originated in the United States as industrial concentrations that were quickly copied by other regions (Castells and Hall, 1994). The idea of concentrating companies in one single area became increasingly important in the mid-20th century, particularly during the World War II (Zhang, 2005). Shortly after that, most innovative companies were aware that science had made a vital contribution to victory (atomic energy, radar, aeronautical developments, etc.) and decided to develop an approximation to leading universities. This is how the first science parks came about around Stanford University and Menlo Park in California, both created towards 1950 (Hansson et al., 2005). In Europe, this phenomenon was retarded for almost twenty years. In the late 1960s, some universities in the UK, such as Cranfield and Cambridge, took action along these lines. In the first years, the growth and impact of parks were weak. Nevertheless, in the 1980s, the British government asked universities to be more collaborative with industry (Allen, 2007). This pressure led to the second wave of parks promoted by the main British universities. Growth continued during the 1990s and by then, more than half the universities already had some kind of agreement or collaboration with science parks. In France, the most significant example is Sofia-Antipolis, created around 1970. The first parks in Italy and Germany started in the early 1980s, concretely the Area Science Park in Trieste and the Technologic Park in Heidelberg, respectively. In Spain, the first park was not created until the second half of the 1980s. The first initiative was the Zamudio Technology Park (Bilbao), created in 1985. In summary, the creation of STPs throughout Europe and the United States has spread to other countries and continents and is currently considered a global phenomenon. Nowadays, there are hundreds of Science Parks and areas of innovation worldwide.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Research Park: It is an area where companies have offices and laboratories and where the do work involving science and technology. This is the most common denomination in the US. Mainly, Research Parks are promoted by private corporations.
Innovation Center: It is a space where organizations of any kind establish labs or spaces for makers (makerspaces) on their own campuses. Oftentimes, corporations use an innovation center to showcase their own innovations or new products to employees, investors or even customers. And, as spaces for innovation, innovation centers typically include the latest technologies and tools for employees to use to experiment or iterate on their ideas or see how else they might apply the technologies in their businesses. An innovation center also serves as a space where people can gather and where design thinking for innovation can directly happen, meaning it is designed to host brainstorming sessions, design sprints, or innovation workshops.
Industrial Cluster: Clusters are groups and networks of interdependent firms, knowledge-producing institutions (universities, research institutes, technology-providing firms), bridging institutions (e.g. providers of technical or consultancy services) and customers, linked in a production chain which creates added value together. The concept of the cluster goes beyond that of firm networking, as it captures all forms of knowledge sharing and exchange. Clusters have a more industrial or productive orientation than science and technology parks.
Technology Park: A landscaped development usually comprising of high specification office space as well as residential and retail developments, designed to encourage localization of high technology companies operating in related sectors such as information technology, software development, etc., thereby giving each the benefit of economies of scale and location.
Technopole: Technopole describes regions worldwide dedicated to technological innovation. Technopoles may be developed by the private sector or by the co-operation or partnership between the public and private sectors. Governments of all levels promote them as a panacea for economies hurt by economic restructuring. Large corporations and small business operate within these high technology areas. Networking between companies is important and made possible by technological advances. Technopoles are combined technological and business centers specifically established around recognized educational and research institutes.
Living Lab: A living lab is a research concept. A living lab is a user-centered, open-innovation ecosystem, often operating in a territorial context (e.g. city, agglomeration, region), that integrates concurrent research and innovation processes within a public-private-people partnership.
Business Park: It is an area that is specially designed to have business offices, small factories, etc. Sometimes it is just a for renting spaces, with no other value-added services.
Science City: A science city is an urban settlement endowed with developed (independent or shared with nearby cities) infrastructure, manufacturing and service sectors, and industrial facilities. Also is considered as a major scientific and technological complex, which is put in place primarily to address priorities of national defense. This factor underpins the creation of these infrastructures in countries such as Russia.
Area of Innovation: They are places created and designed to attract entrepreneurial-minded people, skilled talent, knowledge-intensive businesses, and investments, by developing and combining a set of infrastructural, institutional, scientific, technological, educational and social assets, together with value-added services, thus enhancing sustainable economic development and prosperity with and for the community ( IASP, 2002 ).