Role of Universities in Contributing Towards Science and Technology Park Development: A Framework of Critical Success Factors - Technopolis: Best Practices for Science and Technology Cities - page 299

investors who may want to set up in these parks is crucial. International investors
will be attracted on the back of a number of more basic structural issues which
allow them to flourish.
The parks should also accommodate start-up companies with a ready to go
concept as well as graduates who may wish to start a company on the basis of their
specialisation or commercialisable research outputs. A well-trained Science,
engineering and technology and knowledge human resources base to support
business incubation is critical. This should be a manpower that can synthesise and
create knowledge. The need to develop an entrepreneurial culture should be
vigorously pursued in the country. Universities and colleges in Zimbabwe are in
one way or the other embedding to some extent within the curriculum some
aspects of entrepreneurship. This hopefully should provoke creativity as well as
catapulting

some of our graduates to venturing into high-tech enterprise

development.

3 A Conceptual Framework of Critical Success Factors

The USA, Europe and lately Asia have experienced some success with STPs.
Zimbabwe has embarked on the critical path of establishing STPs. Although, beset
by major challenges, there is a strong willingness to establish STPs to ensure the
sustainable economic development of the country. What are the critical success
factors for the successful establishment of STPs in the country's universities?
In this section, the theoretical framework of the study is briefly presented.
Based on extant literature, the study proposes the following model:
STPs cannot be studied in isolation from its antecedents. This study argues that
the performance of STPs depends on a fit of four key determinants—the strategic
objectives of the STP, the university location advantages, the university expen-
diture on R & D and the successful conclusion of Public private Partnerships
(PPPs), which support STPs with the private sector.

3.1 STP Objectives

The objective for which the university wants active roles in the development of
STPs is critical for its establishment and success. In the diagram, [Fig. 1 , (1)]
depicts this factor. Possible objectives for universities establishing STPs include
creating new jobs, fostering technopreneurship or fostering synergy with the
private sector. Whatever, the objective, it must be clear and unambiguous.