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NEW WAYS TO MAKE TECHNOLOGY PARKS MORE RELEVANT

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High technology policy has become a central feature of many national and regional strategies for encouraging industrial development. One of the more high profile instruments for implementing high technology policy supported by governments and regional authorities has been the technology park – a refinement of the familiar industrial park concept. The global recession, coupled with the failure of high technology policies in many countries, has now meant that technology parks are coming under closer scrutiny. The failure of Australia’s high technology recovery has also meant that its technology parks are being subjected to increasing demands for accountability. There is a need to consider how to make technology parks more relevant in an environment which is beginning to see the limitations of past high technology policy. This paper reviews recent literature on technology parks with a special emphasis on Australian experience. It is argued that the suggestions often put forward for making technology parks more relevant need not be associated with ‘objective’ measurements of commercial success. The problems are more fundamental and the solutions should be inherently linked to the nature of policy-making itself. The paper argues for a strategy for relevance which depends on: recognising high technology for what it is; replacing the linear model of innovation as a rationale for policy; avoiding the dichotomy of sunset and sunrise industries, and establishing new criteria for assessing technology parks.

SKU: 0810-90288629377 Category: Tag:

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By R. A. Joseph

High technology policy has become a central feature of many national and regional strategies for encouraging industrial development. One of the more high profile instruments for implementing high technology policy supported by governments and regional authorities has been the technology park – a refinement of the familiar industrial park concept. The global recession, coupled with the failure of high technology policies in many countries, has now meant that technology parks are coming under closer scrutiny. The failure of Australia’s high technology recovery has also meant that its technology parks are being subjected to increasing demands for accountability. There is a need to consider how to make technology parks more relevant in an environment which is beginning to see the limitations of past high technology policy. This paper reviews recent literature on technology parks with a special emphasis on Australian experience. It is argued that the suggestions often put forward for making technology parks more relevant need not be associated with ‘objective’ measurements of commercial success. The problems are more fundamental and the solutions should be inherently linked to the nature of policy-making itself. The paper argues for a strategy for relevance which depends on: recognising high technology for what it is; replacing the linear model of innovation as a rationale for policy; avoiding the dichotomy of sunset and sunrise industries, and establishing new criteria for assessing technology parks.

page: 46 – 61
Prometheus: Critical Studies in Innovation
Volume 12, Issue 1

SKU: 0810-90288629377

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