Technology Park 1

PROPOSAL FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF

A SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK NETWORK MECHANISM DESIGNED TO FOSTER INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

17 April 2002, Beijing, China

Background

  A number of “Science and Technology Parks” have been developed around the world as a means of stimulating start-up and growth of technologically intensive, knowledge-based businesses, and of facilitating the links between the research and industrial communities.   These are typically designed to serve: as an incubating base for private sector ventures; as a training base for persons with new, innovating skills; and as an experimental zone for new technologies.

  Such Science and Technology Parks can be found throughout the world, in both developed and developing countries. An International Association of Science Parks (IASP) exists that has membership from 55 countries. In terms of the technology sectors, most of the existing Science and Technology Parks worldwide emphasize new and emerging technologies. According to worldwide statistics, 26 per cent are engaged in Information and Telecommunications Technologies, 20 per cent in Biotechnologies, 19 per cent in Electronics and Computers, 9 per cent in Agro-food, 8 per cent in Environmental Technologies, 6 per cent in new materials, and 5 per cent in pharmaceuticals.   In terms of tenants in the existing Science and Technology Parks, 51 per cent are services companies, 26 per cent are research activities, and 18 per cent are industrial companies.

  In general, Science and Technology Parks have proved to be useful vehicles for research-industry interactions. Different Science and Technology Parks exhibit different characteristics due to the environments in which they are set up and the actors involved.

  Rapid advances that are being made in new and emerging technologies in such fields as information, telecommunications, environment, clean energy, health, materials and transportation technologies, and...