The History of UKSPA
Members of UKSPA have been in the business of creating the right environment to support both the creation and growth of technology-based businesses for 20 years. The origins of UKSPA date back to the early 1980s when a number of universities in the UK recognised that the era of the knowledge-based business had arrived, and pooled their experience so that they could guide others pursuing similar interests.
The success of any business largely depends on its ability to innovate, and in today’s global economy, companies must be aware of technological and scientific changes if they are to remain competitive. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the UK’s 100 or so science and research parks, where universities and businesses work together to exploit scientific research for commercial gain.
The emergence of Science Parks in the UK in the early 1980s came about at a time when recession in traditional labour-intensive industries forced regions to diversify their economies. In the last 20 years, the number of science parks has significantly grown (from two in 1982 to about 100 in 2003), but there is still a strong regional and local focus to their establishment. ‘It is appropriate that science parks remain diversified and specifically cater for local needs, and are not part of a national 'one size fits all' model.’ said Paul Wright, Chief Executive of the Association.
The science parks – also known as technology or business and innovation centres – are geared towards the needs of start-up and growth companies. At the heart of these initiatives is the relationship between the park and the local research centre or university. The science park provides an organised link between the tenant companies and the research expertise of local academics, as well as business management know-how.
What has continued to happen over the years is that many more UK universities and centres of excellence in research have recognised the unstoppable trend, and inherent value of science park development and have created parks with associated management structures to help drive science and technology up the value chain by supporting tenant companies across a wide range of activities.
In recent years, and in particular since the government published its White Paper - Our Competitive Future: Building the Knowledge Driven Economy in December 1998, the recognition of the kind of work being carried out within universities and their respective science parks has become more widely understood and recognised as fundamentally important for well-being of the UK's economy.
This greater understanding has resulted in a wider focus by a larger number of agencies on the need to create and support the growth of new high-growth companies. This policy has been further extended by a number of initiatives that include the national policy that universities should be active in regional economic development. UKSPA is actively engaged in many national and regional consultation bodies, actively represents the science park movement, and lobbies on behalf of science parks. The Association also has a seat on the UK Enterprise Panel, and is working more closely with the Regional Development Agencies across the UK.
In essence the experience of UKSPA has brought it to the fore in as a major player in the business of supporting high-growth companies.
The most tangible and visible aspect of any science park are the buildings and parks themselves. To many observers, the virility of the host is judged by the number and size of the facilities that have been built. However, it is very clear to those that are active in the Science Park movement in the UK that this view and attitude misrepresents the strong focus that science park managers have on supporting tenant companies. The services that the management of science parks have offered are now being spread more widely to companies through such organisations as the Small Business Service, and private developers who understand the market and recognise the needs of creating appropriate accommodation for high technology companies.
Despite the reality of the need for the facilities and services that are offered on Science Parks there have been, over the last twenty years, regular comments by those that do not understand the needs of business, that science parks may be just a kind of ‘high-tech fantasy’ and that they are just property initiatives in disguise. This kind of comment does not recognise the true facts of business life and does not reflect the wide range of companies that have established themselves on Science Parks.
Recent studies investigating reasons why companies wished to locate on a science park concluded that the key reason is the reputation and image that a presence on the site provides for tenants. There is no doubt that such a need could not be satisfied by running a virtual organisation from someone's home. This is fine for lifestyle companies, but will never suit high-growth companies that aspire to international markets and really will become industrial leaders in the future.
The varied business models that have emerged on Science Parks up and down the UK from Aberdeen to Plymouth, from Swansea to Cambridge and Ireland to Kent is one that provides a wide range of services associated with taking space in which to accommodate a company, or operating virtual centres that can be precursors to growing into a unit on a Park.
Typically this process on a science park includes supporting those with ideas for a business through the pre-incorporation phase when ideas are emerging from the laboratory or from personal experience, with pre-incubation mentoring. At this level it involves taking these groups of people or individuals through the stages of testing the business idea, perhaps validating this through proof of principle and then undertaking a market evaluation. This is followed by protecting the value of a company through its IP and then bringing this to the point of transferring the technology on to a commercialisation platform from which to build a business. For these activities some parks have established special units that include a ‘rent a desk’ service with business mentoring.
To take companies on, there is a need for grow-on space which typically ranges from 80 sq m to 500 sq m or even larger, with some parks having attracted large tenant companies that bring stability and kudos to the site while also being in position to establish links with the host university.
The kind of accommodation and services needed by companies that are in the post-technology transfer phase is different to the early development stage. It is not an option to just simply establish companies; care is taken to effectively plan a way forward for companies so that they do not clog up units in business incubators. In addition to home-grown business, the experience of many parks is that they act as a focus for inward investment, which has the potential of bringing into a business community ideas and technology that if deployed can raise the performance of local companies.
The need to put a deal more flesh on the issue of supporting the formation and growth has stimulated the Department of Trade and Industry, through its Small Business Service team, to support a major research project, the results of which will be launched at a conference in October 2003. This project has given recommendations as to how the science park movement can develop ways of strengthening the support services that are currently offered to tenant companies. This research project and the continuing debate within the membership and with our wider stakeholders will be helpful in strengthening the voice of the Association at local, regional (with RDAs) and national levels in relation to supporting business.
So, in the past two decades, science parks within UKSPA have launched hundreds of hi-tech and knowledge-based companies. Whilst there are regional variations, in general science parks are private companies – partnerships between universities and local authorities. The aim is to support and encourage commercial innovation in sectors such as biotechnology, telecommunications, industrial technology and the pharmaceuticals industry.
Paul Wright, Chief Executive, insists the parks play a key role in developing the knowledge-driven economy by providing a supportive environment for small to medium-sized, innovation-led businesses. ‘The parks provide a number of valuable business support services: incubation units, mentoring schemes, financial advice, business planning and advice on intellectual property rights (IP).’ Business advisors and consultancies are either provided by the science parks themselves or are contracted in. The government funded Business Links are often based on site.
While we admit it is extremely difficult to measure the impact of these initiatives on the economy, due to diversity and differences in approach, Paul Wright said there are several telling factors. ‘One is the very important employment figure – while the technology sector as a whole has witnessed something of a slowdown, employment in UK science parks has gone up by 25% in the last year,’ he said. Indeed, the number of tenant companies of UKSPA members is also an indication of success. According to UKSPA’s annual statistics, the number of tenant companies of UKSPA members has increased from 930 in 1991 to nearly 1,700 in 2003. |