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Regional Innovation: accessing cutting edge research and development
Key points
- Strong regional networks form the best basis for sustainable regional innovation, and sustainable development must be based on regional values.
- Experience shows that determined project champions are a key success factor for regional development projects.
- It is important to encourage a culture of innovation in regions. This means encouraging private sector firms to take on projects that have a greater degree of technological risk.
- Local EDA networks are well placed to recognise growth opportunities for regionally-based companies, and to support them when they take on projects.
- Science and Technology Parks (STP) are excellent economic development tools for leveraging local resources. While they are property-based developments, their main purpose is to connect research organisations with technology-based firms.
- Unlike Business Parks, which are solely property-based projects, successful STPs need develop both hard and soft infrastructure to support their residents.
- STPs differ from incubators in that they are intended to attract established companies who are seeking a competitive advantage from the research focus of the STP, as opposed to spinning-out new companies.
- New Zealand does not have a true STP, but we do have the foundations for them in some regions, and now is the right time to think about developing STPs in New Zealand.
- While internationally STPs would normally involve universities, there is no reason why polytechnics couldnâ??t form the nucleus of an STP.
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