US NSF - Research and Metrics on U.S. Science Parks

This event was part of a series of workshops sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS), on issues related to innovation and innovation metrics. It was organized by SRI International, Arlington, Virginia, with the assistance of Professor Albert N. Link, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The workshop built on a 2002 NSF conference, hosted by UNC-Greensboro, at which participants discussed the role of science parks as transfer mechanisms for academic research findings, a source of knowledge spillovers, and a catalyst for national and regional economic growth. The background paper prepared by Professor Link for the current workshop[1] clearly indicates that academic scholars have been investigating numerous dimensions of parks since the 2002 workshop, studying U.S. parks as well as parks in other countries.

The objective of the 2007 workshop was to foster a better understanding and measurement of science parks' activities, including the role of science parks within the national innovation system. To meet this objective, six scholars were asked to make presentations about science parks in order to identify unanswered research questions from the perspectives of theory and policymaking needs and to discuss existing and possible future metrics on science parks. Three presentations focused on characteristics of U.S. science parks and three presentations focused on comparative aspects of parks.

Participants identified a need for systematic studies on topics such the social benefits from public investments in science parks, how the university-science park interaction engenders entrepreneurial activity, and lessons that U.S. science parks can learn from comparative studies with European and Asian parks.

9:00 – 9:30	Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:30 – 9:45	Welcome Lynda Carlson, National Science Foundation
	Introduction and Workshop Objectives John Jankowski, National Science Foundation
9:45 – 11:45	Characteristics and Idiosyncrasies about US Research/Science Parks Chair: Robert McMahan, Governor's Science and Technology Advisor, North Carolina
	Albert Link, University of North Carolina at Greensboro The Growth and Evaluation of U.S. Research/Science Parks PDF (143K)
	David Audretsch, Indiana University Research Clusters and Regional Economic Growth: Anticipating the Future Growth of U.S. Research/Science Parks PDF (384K)
	Donald Siegel, University of California at Riverside Incubators and the Development of New Technologies PDF (79K)
	Robert McMahan General Discussion
11:45 – 12:45	Lunch Remarks by Stephen A. Lehrman, Legislative Assistant, Senator Mark Pryor, U.S. Congress
12:45 – 2:45	Comparative Dimensions of U.S. Research/Science Parks Chair: Jackie Kerby Moore Executive Director, Sandia Science & Technology Park
	Sean Safford, University of Chicago Social Networks and University Research in Local Economic Development: Possible Lessons for U.S. Research/Science Park Success? PDF (716K)
	Anne Fuller, Georgia Tech Patent Ownership and Research/Science Parks PDF (592K)
	Phillip Phan, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Asian Perspectives about Research/Science Parks PDF (238K)
	Jackie Kerby Moore General Discussion
2:45	Summary Comments Albert Link
3:00	Concluding Remarks and Adjourn John Jankowski

Footnotes

[1] Albert N. Link, "The Economics of University Research/Science Parks: A Review of the Academic Literature," background paper prepared for distribution at the National Science Foundation-sponsored workshop on Research and Metrics on U.S. Research/Science Parks, December 3, 2007.