UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PARKS CONTRIBUTE TO ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS OF REGIONS, STATES AND NATIONS

New comprehensive report outlines emerging impact of parks

 

University Research Parks are emerging as strong sources of entrepreneurship, talent and economic competitiveness according to a new report, Characteristics and Trends in North American Research

Parks: 21st Century Directions, prepared by Battelle’s Technology Partnership Practice (TPP) in partnership with the Association of University Research Parks (AURP).

 

TPP helps clients develop and implement strategies to drive technology-based economic development by using tools, such as research parks, to make universities and other research institutions key drivers of economic development.  AURP is a non-profit association that promotes the development and operation of research parks.

 

A survey of 134 university research parks in the United States and Canada revealed that:

  • University research parks in the United States and Canada encompass more than 47,000 acres and include 124 million square feet of space
  • At full build-out, these research parks will include 275 million square feet of space
  • More than 300,000 workers in North America work in a university research park
  • Every job in a research park generates an average of 2.57 jobs in the economy resulting in a total employment impact of more than 750,000 jobs.

“A new model is emerging,” said Walter H. Plosila, Vice-President, Battelle TPP.  “What we’re seeing are strategically planned, mixed-use campuses designed to create an environment that fosters collaboration and innovation and promotes the development, transfer and commercialization of technology,” he said.  Research parks have become a key element of the technology infrastructure supporting the growth of today’s knowledge economy.

 

“Research parks are key drivers of regional development,” said Austin Beggs, President of the AURP Board of Directors and Director of Corporate Relations, Innovation Place.  Research parks were traditionally established to recruit R&D and technology companies to locate near a university in order to build a cluster of high technology companies.  Today, research parks increasingly spur homegrown business startups, retention and expansion with a focus on providing commercialization and business development support in addition to space for talent retention.

 

A full copy of Trends and Characteristics in North American Research Parks: 21st Century Directions can be found at www.aurp.net.   –or on the Battelle website by clicking here.

 

Battelle is the world’s largest non-profit independent research and development organization, providing innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing needs through its four global businesses:  Laboratory Management, National Security, Energy Science and Technology, and Health and Life Sciences.  It advances scientific discovery and application by conducting $3.8 billion in global R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management and technology commercialization.  Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 20,000 employees in more than 120 locations worldwide, including six national laboratories which Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

 

Battelle also is one of the nation’s leading charitable trusts focusing on societal and economic impact and actively supporting and promoting science and math education. For more information visit www.battelle.org or contact Battelle National Media Relations Manager Katy Delaney at (410) 306-8638 or at delaneyk@battelle.org.

 

AURP promotes the development and operation of research parks that foster innovation, commercialization, and economic competitiveness in a global economy through collaboration among universities, industry, and government.  For more information contact AURP Executive Director Eileen Walker at (520) 529-2521 or at eileenwalker@aurp.net