Technology, Market and Company Journeys: How Can We Help Them Succeed? - Technopolis: Best Practices for Science and Technology Cities - page 193

Technology, Market and Company
Journeys: How Can We Help Them
Succeed?

Malcolm Parry

Abstract The science and technology movement has been developing for over
60 years. In that time these specialist developments have changed from passive
developments that are simply property based initiatives that anticipated through
co-location to be able to contribute to innovation and technology commerciali-
sation. The need for acceleration of this process has brought together business and
the generators of knowledge on these sites which are consistently supported by
government programmes to help with the formation of development of new
technology-based firms. The combination of features that have been developed are
now being coordinated in regional innovation plans which are being supported by
local, regional and national policies that are concerned with establishing both the
right business, technology and social environments, and the appropriate connec-
tions to drive company development. This chapter, in addition to discussing the
appropriate macro conditions necessary to support innovation, also looks at the
process of business development.

1 Science and Technology Parks: An Evolving Model

The science park movement has evolved over the last 60 years from providing
passive property based developments to locations that have become active parts of
the infrastructure that contribute to economic development by trying to utilise
knowledge outputs through commercialisation Parry ( 2006 ).
This transformation has involved developing a number of strategies. These
include: improvements to the supply of ideas from the discovery phase in science,
technology and engineering in the context of their potential for commercialisation;