The secrets of science park success revealed – be a shepherd not a boss

By Mike Darch

On my second day of my September trip to Berlin the schedule featured an International Colloquium on Science Parks and a dinner celebrating the 100^th Anniversary of Adlershof.

I have been taking an informal survey, definitely non-scientific, on the impact of the financial crisis on cities with a strong commitment to Knowledge Based Industries (KBI).

My thesis is that KBI cities are being affected but not to the extent of the economy in general. The graphs below illustrate that, to a large extent, the Ottawa area has survived the global recession well. A colloquium on Science Parks is fertile ground for testing my thesis. Unscientific as it is, my informal discussions were conclusive. Impact, yes, recession, no. In fact, many regions were finding positive effects as companies recognized the strength of the sector and the opportunity to be aggressive and grow.

Back to the real work of the day. One of the speakers was Luis Sanz, CEO of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP). He spoke of his observations on what makes science parks successful. He stressed that there must be a focus on strategy and how the park will move the region forward. Particularly in today’s environment, you need a strategy that is agile and nimble. Metrics are often over emphasized and very difficult to measure. In 25 years, he has not seen agreement on measurement. With a focus on strategy and the impact on companies, management can concentrate on long term growth and economic stability. Other points made:

Helge Neumann, the Lord Mayor of Berlin and Mike Darch

• Domestic focus not enough, need a global strategy, global networks;
• Need proactive leaders;
• Key components: infrastructure, networking, management and entrepreneurial climate;
• Be careful of sustainable development being translated as economic development, they are similar but different concepts.     

Rick Weddle, President and CEO of North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park discussed the success of RTP. Check out his presentation here. This year RTP celebrates its 50^th anniversary, and success was not instantaneous. He stressed the need for collaboration and harnessing community resources to achieve more than can be achieved by multiple agendas and objectives. The world has changed and has changed permanently and the successful are not looking back but looking forward and re-inventing. RTP views itself as more of a global innovation neighbourhood than an industrial park. A key takeaway from Rick’s talk: RTP management is not the boss but rather the shepherd of a major community resource.

Rick Weddle and the Lord Mayor of BerlinThe discussion following these talks was very interesting. From a political viewpoint, there is always an emphasis on jobs. The point was made by several speakers that successful KBIs and science parks are based on long term and permanent changes in the regional economy.  Using the metric of jobs created will tend to lead to a short term emphasis and convert a science park to a shopping mall. Perhaps a little harsh, but that analogy clearly demonstrates why the recurring themes emphasize strategy, company creation and talent development and retention. The move to KBIs and science parks is based on a strategy of developing employment that is well paying (with significant flow through in the economy) and rooted in local talent and infrastructure.

After a day of these proceedings, we celebrated the 100^th Anniversary of Adlershof with the Lord Mayor of Berlin. As a former Air Force officer, I found it hard to believe that Adlershof got its start as an Air Show in September 1909.

Hardy Schmitz, CEO of Wista

With Rick Weddle present, Hardy Schmitz the CEO of Adlershof made the point that the Wright brothers may have made their first flight in North Carolina but 60 of their 80 Wright Flyers were built in Adlershof.  The Park has definitely had its up and downs. In both the First and Second World Wars it was a major centre of manufacture for aircraft (6000 in WW1) and the home of the Luftwaffe.  It suffered significantly at end of both World Wars and after the fall of the Berlin Wall as the region became de-industrialized.

According to Hardy and the Mayor, the creation of the Adlershof Science Park in 1991 took advantage of the significant talent and research (particularly in optics) in the Park to launch its modern history and lead the economic recovery of the re-united and reborn Berlin.

(Mike Darch is Executive Director of OCRI Global Marketing)