A critical analysis of Science and Technology Parks:

Learning from the Italian Experience

Danilo Rubini(Licenciado)

Orientador: Doutor Manuel Frederico Tojal de Valsassina HeitorCo-Orientador: Doutor Pedro Filipe Teixera Da Conceição

Eng. Walter Piperno

Lisbon , 20th September 2002

Research Question Research Question & &

Research Methodology Research Methodology

Research Question “How do we interpret the impact and the activity

of parks?” is a crucial question whenever governmental bodies or other public institutions aim at financing parks’ activities.

Methodology Top down view:

Literature International context and trends

Bottom up view: Unstructured surveys and visits to parks Regional analyses

Focusing on STPs: Semantic Analysis of the Defs

Synthesis:

1. Parks are expected to have an effect at the local level,

2. Parks should encourage operational links of firms with scientific and technologic research sources,

3. Parks should enhance the formation and growth of firms and

4. Parks should constitute an environment that fosters knowledge-based innovation, namely through the growth of competition across firms.

Present International trends: Conference of IASP, Bilbao 2001

The importance of incubation The attraction of skilled people and right

tenants Interactions and networks Globalisation versus localisation Capital funds and financing Universities Regions, policies and STPs

The Italian Context and the selected sample of STPs

In Italy: about 35 STPs S&T: a developed but

fragmented reality The MD n.255 of 1994:

13 new STPs mostly located in the LFRs

The sample for the research: 6 Italian STPs and 2 International cases

Sophia Antipolis (Côte D’Azur, France)Taguspark (Lisbon, Portugal)

Benchmarking the cases: principal characteristics

Employees Capital stock

Indicative characteristics of the STPs visited R

egio

n

Cap

ital

Sto

ck

Keu

ro

Kin

d o

f R

esea

rch

ex

tra/

intr

amu

ros

N.

of

emp

loye

es

of

the

com

pan

y m

anag

ing

th

e S

TP

Sp

ace

occ

up

ied

(m

2 )

Yea

rs o

f ac

tivi

ty

up

to

200

1 N

. fi

rms

and

/or

lab

ora

tori

es

loca

lised

in t

he

area

of

the

ST

P

PST D'Abruzzo Abruzzo 206,6 intra 124 5500 5 0 Tecnomarche Marche 723 extra 4 200 4 0

Centuria Emilia Romagna 154,9 extra 7 150 7 0 Technapoli Campania 1627 extra 7 300 9 0 Tecnopolis Puglia 1611 intra 193 25000 19 25 AREA SP Friuli Venezia Giulia - intra 55 63000 19 46

Taguspark Grande Lisboa - intra 25 200 he 9 125

Sophia Antipolis SP Prov. Alpes Cote d'Azur - intra - 2300 he 34 1164

Region

Capital Stock

Kind of Research

N. of employees of the company managing the STP

Space occupied

Years of activity

N. of firms and/or laboratories located in the

STP

Intra-extra muros research: hard and soft STPs

International case studies

Years of activity

Sectors of specialisation: fostering technology and innovation

Industrial Sectors of activity

Info

rmat

ion

te

chn

olo

gie

s A

dva

nce

d

Tel

eco

mm

un

icat

ion

M

icro

elec

tro

nic

s an

d

Ele

ctro

nic

s

Bio

tech

no

log

y

Au

tom

atio

n a

nd

P

rod

uct

ion

pro

cess

es

Ag

roin

du

stri

al s

ecto

r

Bio

med

ical

Mec

han

ical

En

erg

y an

d

En

viro

nm

ent

Tra

nsp

ort

s an

d

equ

ipm

ent

Mat

eria

ls

Aer

osp

ace

ind

ust

ry

Tra

dit

ion

al s

ecto

rs:

sho

es,

furn

itu

re

clo

thin

g e

tc.

Fin

e ch

emis

try

N.

of

spec

ialis

ed

sect

ors

PST D'Abruzzo v v v v v v v v 8 Tecnomarche v v v v v 5

Centuria v v v v v 5 Technapoli v v v v v v v 7 Tecnopolis v v v v v v v v 8 AREA SP v v v v v v v v v v v 11

Taguspark v v v v v v v 7

Sophia Antipolis SP v v v v v v v v v v 10

TOTAL 6 4 5 6 6 5 4 3 4 3 5 4 3 3 -

Information Technologies

Advanced Telecommunications

Microelectronics and Electronics

Biotechnologies

Automation and Production Processes

Agroindustrial Sector

Biomedical

Mechanical

Energy and Environment

Materials

Aerospace Industry

Traditional Sectors

Fine Chemistry

Common branches Information technology Automation and production processes Biotechnology

Hard STPs Microelectronics and electronics

Soft STPsAgroindustrial sector

Focusing on Few or many sectors

The STP and the territory

The EU classification

The range of action of the STP

Correspondences within projects and regional branches of specialisation Top-down or

bottom-up approach

The STP and the territory

Territorial European

classification for structural funds*

Local range of

activity for the park**

Correspondence within regional analysis and

projects actuated by the park°

Parks' analyses of the territory included in its

range of action

PST D'Abruzzo Objective 2 Region Medium-high Regional sources Tecnomarche Objective 2, 5b Region high Regional sources

Centuria Objective 2 Province high Own analyses Technapoli Objective 1 Province Medium-high Own analyses Tecnopolis Objective 1 Region high Own analyses AREA SP Objective 2, 5b Region high Own analyses

Taguspark Objective 1 *** Region - Own an. for tenants

Sophia Antipolis SP Objective 2, 5b Region - Own an. for tenants * Years 2000- 2006 (Source: Inforegio EU) ** Source: interviews *** Phasing-Out

The flow of information

50% of the sample continuously provides updated and targeted information to their clients

66.7% of the sample divulgates the activity in progress inside the park

33.3% of Italian STPs visited updated their website no more than twice per year

33.3% makes a monthly revision of the web site 33.3% proposes a weekly update Both the international case studies showed a

weekly update of their web sites

3 Perspectives for the observation of Italian STPs

Top down and bottom up models

Two principal contexts identify the observation of top-down or bottom-up approaches: Observation of the local territorial framework

Analysis of the local economic context Detection of

the local specialised sectors The niches with high market or technology potentialities

Observation of the network of operational links The lists of the players The kind of links between the STP and its actors

Depicting the geographic net, Defining the economic and scientific fluxes

The comparison between the two maps allows a better understanding of the approach used by the STP

Perspectives for the observation of Italian STPs:

1

The activities of Science and Technology Parks

This point of view observes the park as if taking a snapshot of STP actions

Initial classification of the actionsFour primary pointsThe linear tree

Perspectives for the observation of Italian STPs:

2

support to trad itional sectors

in troduction of new sectors o f activ ity

local c u ltura l e ffec t

attractiv e effec t

re la tions w ith ins titu tiona l bodie s

environm ent transform ation s

in tang ib le assets

Local Effect(Characteristic or objective)

loca l un ivers itie s

local pu blic or p rivate research centre s

extra ter ritoria l re la tion ships w ith res earch source s

other s ource s

in tang ib le assets

Links with Research Sources(necessity)

serv ices to firm s

specific suppo rt to inc ubators

Support to Formation and Growth of Firms(objective or mean)

access to technologic know -ho w

inte llec tual p roperty

d iffus ion o f inno vation a nd tech nology cu lture s

other routine s for th e exch ange of in fo rm atio n

sectors of spec ia lisatio n

in tang ib le assets

Support to Technology Innovation(objective or mean)

Science and Technology Park

Local Effect Links with Research Sources

Support to Formation

and Growth of Firms

Support to Technology Innovation

jobs ' c reatio n

creation o f new firm s

products a nd/or prod uctiv ity im provem en t

increase of dem a nd pools

direc t ap proach in conta cting lo ca l firm s

suppor t to trad itiona l sectors

jobs ' c reatio n

creation o f new firm s

products a nd/or prod uctiv ity im provem en t

increase of dem a nd pools

in troduction of new sectors of activ ity

d ivu lgation of cu l ture o f In novation and T e chnolog y

person nel form atio n

analys is o f loca l contex t

m utation o f local qu ality o f life

loca l c u ltura l e ffec t

attraction of ex te rna l firm s

hum an capita l a ttrac tio n

apprec iation o f loca l territory

attractio n of re search source s

attractiv e effec t

governm en t

regio n

othe r

re lations w ith ins titu tiona l bodie s

environm ent transform ation s

in tangib le assets

Local Effect(Characteristic or objective)

strateg ic pro jec ts un ivers ity-S T P

transfe r o f h igh qu alifie d pers onne l

P hD thes is

gradu ation thesis

pubblication s

projects invo lv in g

support for d irect in teractio n firm s-univers ity

brie f spec ific advic e

academ ic sp in-offs

loca l un ivers itie s

laboratory or instrum ent re nt serv ic e

for pu bblic ation s

for ap plied resu lts

pro jects invo lv ing the researc h centre

loca l pu blic or p rivate research centre s

brief spec ific advic e

tem pora ry exch ange o f experts

tem pora ry exch ange of s tudents

developm ent o f c om m on pro jects

extra territoria l re la tion ships w ith res earch source s

other s ource s

in tangib le assets

Links with Research Sources(necessity)

organis ation of consor tia of firm s for pro jects

sc ientific , techn olog ic , organis ationa l

econom ic , lega l, bu reaucratic

advice serv ice s

V enture C apita l

B us iness A ngels

P ublic fund s

creation of co lle c tive fu nds for tenants

retrieva l o f funds fo r pro jects w ith firm s

econom ic stud ie s

se lectio n and d iffus ion of in fo rm atio n

in form atio n for firm s

sale /re nt of lo cation s

tem porary location for firm s in the S T P

econom ic s upport for the location in the S T P

support for the location of firm s

spec ific form a tion an d refre shing c ourse s

serv ices to firm s

netw orks of s tart-up s

tem porary f ree location in the S T P

pre-fea sib ility s tudie s

spec ific pro jectin g and feasib ility s tudie s

m anagem ent adv ic e

spec ific suppo rt to inc ubators

Support to Formation and Growth of Firms(objective or mean)

of know ledge-ba sed firm s

of un ive rs ities and re search centre s

paritc ip ation/creatio n of ne tw ork s

analys is o f techn ology kn ow ledg e

analys is o f innovative processe s

access to technolog ic know -ho w

patenting serv ice s

advice on in te l lec tua l property

in te llec tua l p roperty

spec ific or d iv u lgatio n confe rence s

advertis ing on S T P 's activ ity and on tenants

sem inars , w orkshop s

spec ific on S T P and ten ants resu lts

spec ific on S T P serv ice s

pubblication s

diffus ion of inno vation a nd tech nology cu lture s

other routine s for th e exch ange of in fo rm atio n

selection of tenants

transversal spec ia lisatio n

selection of secto rs of spec ia lisatio n

sectors o f spec ia lisatio n

in tangib le assets

Support to Technology Innovation(objective or mean)

Science and Technology Park

A continuous approach in Listing the actions

Detecting transversal connections

Highlighting (virtuous or vicious) circles

Proposal for a primary classification of the actions of the STPs

Knowledge creation and diffusion

The context and the purpose: a learning society View more concerned with the flow of information:

Observing the fluxes more than the content while maintaining content importance

Qualifying a park through the rate of the information that it is able to create, exchange, spread and attract

Observing the routines applied Own analysis of the local development Conferences, newsletters, seminars and workshops Exchange of workers and international relationships Selection of generic knowledge from specific knowledge Door-to-door or firm-to-firm activity Relationships with the media Training and formation

Focusing on the right conditions for an innovative and knowledge based environment

Perspectives for the observation of Italian STPs:

3

Conclusions

The observation should provide Comprehension of effectiveness and efficiency Visibility for STPs Trustworthiness for STPs

The 3 perspectives are a first step There is the need for a continuous will in using

these tools overall in a learning-by-doing process “…no strict criteria should be used to evaluate a

park because if there are apparently unsuccessful projects there could always be useful fall-outs” (M. Castells, P. Hall 1994)