Tag Archives: markets

Can Research Parks and Incubators Spur Development?

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Guest blogger Anthony Townsend is director of technology development at the Institute for the Future, a California-based research group.

Experts and entrepreneurs from around the world discuss what governments can do to promote high-tech entrepreneurship and what the shape of technology entrepreneurship will be in the future.


For over 50 years, the research park model has spread throughout the developed world as a tool for technology-based economic development. The main idea behind this movement is that real estate development can seed the long-term growth of new technology industry clusters.

Today, we see the research park model being copied widely in the developing world. Africa’s first research park – the Innovation Hub in South Africa – demonstrates the possibilities of research parks to spur innovation by incubating university research spin-offs. Developing economies throughout the Global South are building research parks at a rapid pace.

However, just as the research park model matures, the nature of basic scientific research and technological innovation is changing rapidly. Science is more global than ever, presenting new opportunities for scientists in the developing world to connect to traditional centers of research, and participate in their work. The development of products and services based on new technologies is being rapidly accelerated through new design, manufacturing and distribution tools.

These trends suggest that the research park model – which focuses solely on land and leasable space – will need to grow up in order to spur developing economies. It will need to connect better globally, in order to package and deliver value to distant markets for talent and intellectual property. At the same time, we’ll need to rethink the physical design of research parks because innovation networks don’t have to be confined to a single campus or building – they span entire neighborhoods, cities and metropolitan regions.

For more information, visit the Institute for the Future’s report on the future of research parks, Future Knowledge Ecosystems. See also my blog.

What the World Needs Now Is Innovation, More Innovation

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Guest blogger Joachim von Heimburg is one of the leading practitioners of “open innovation,” with 30 years of experience in R&D and product development at Procter and Gamble. Since 2009 he has worked as an independent innovation guide.

Experts and entrepreneurs from around the world discuss what governments can do to promote high-tech entrepreneurship and what the shape of technology entrepreneurship will be in the future.


Climate change. Secure energy and water supply. Food production for the growing world population. These all pose challenges that require many innovations of a global scope. But is the world innovating globally?

Political leaders love innovation and want more of it. But do they support innovating outside their home turf?

It all starts with an entrepreneur identifying an opportunity to create value. Intellectual property rights define ownership of this value. The bigger the market, the more value is created, so more innovations will emerge in bigger markets.

Action required: Standardize and better enforce intellectual property rights across countries, creating bigger markets for innovations.

Innovations require balancing many forces. Some of them are within the control of the entrepreneur — like product performance. Some of them require trade-offs between the benefits of innovation and the risks to society. Think of cars. Although they kill thousands every year, many people drive to work every morning. But not all countries see risks in the same way. Compare the risk-benefit assessment of nuclear power in France vs. Germany.

Action required: Shape discussions assessing benefits vs. risks with the objective of bringing more innovations to the market.

In the political world, the whole world, innovation is often an orphan. Rarely can politicians show ownership for innovation on a global level in the way they can feel responsible for national research. Policies across borders often focus on risk reduction and thus favor the status quo. But innovation must venture into uncharted territory. Politicians – are you reading this? – you must accept a leadership role to help the world become more innovative. Yes, you can!