Reasons for a Research Park

According to IASP definition, a Research Park is an organisation managed by specialised professionals, whose main aim is to increase the wealth of its community by promoting the culture of innovation and the competitiveness of its associated businesses and knowledge-based institutions.

To enable these goals to be met, a Research Park stimulates and manages the flow of knowledge and technology amongst universities, R&D institutions, companies and markets; it facilitates the creation and growth of innovation-based companies through incubation and spin-off processes; and provides other value-added services together with high quality space and facilities.

According to this definition, Research Park aim at:

• Attract technology-based companies and activities
• Estimulate the growing of local advanced technology companies
• Encourage the creation of innovative companies
• Help development, transfer and use of advanced technology and knowledgement
• Offer suitable locations and possibilities to cover R&D needs

Project development capacity, establishment of alternatives, innovative solution proposals, continuous expert training capacity, access to specialized facilities, high qualified staff availability, and a range of high quality and value-added services are definite appeal for companies planning to settle in a research park.

Aims

The project of creating a Research Park in Alicante arises within the framework of promotion of research and technology development with the following aims:

1. Conceive a space of excellence and innovation encouraging collaboration University/Enterprise and applied research. A revitalizing space of technology transfer and competitiveness in the economic system.
2. Insert a framework of environmental excellence, a space of creativity, design and future, following quality, innovation and knowlegde society parameters.
3. Develope the creation of knowledge- and research-based businesses.
4. Develope the creation of qualified employment, the creation of competitive business projects in a framework of progressive diversification production on a medium term.
5. Improve the expectations of employment and labour conditions of university graduates and the incorporation of university doctors in companies.
6. Encourage the development of an open university model to the social demands of our environment.

Priority lines

Companies in Alicante -including small and traditional sectors companies- need a large amount of innovation. Universities should direct research activities to gain a greater profit value of company investments. Some PRIORITY LINES for Parque Científico de Alicante could be:

Qualified work and continuous training. The labour market in the province of Alicante presented important problems and limitations in the last decades. Promotion of competitive innovation, applied research, technology transfer, continuous training are the only possible ways in the long-term time to transform the structure of an economy excessively depending on weak demand sectors and mature technologies.

Technology transfer and innovation capacity.

Economic growth in Alicante depends largely on innovation and technological change. It is the main requirement to increase work productivity, in a province where traditionally, due to the characteristics of the predominant sectors, productivity has been low. Economy in Alicante needs to become receptive to international competitive capacity of European and worldwide companies and regions, as technology developes and creates new forms of production, favoring spreading and diversification of production activities. The modern concept of technology includes many of the issues where companies in Alicante fail: equipments, methods, procedures, organization, routines, know-how... Although scientific knowledge is developed without taking into account its possibilities of application, the huge growth of this knowledge -main scientific knowlegde is supposed to double every five years- confers some real possibilities of spectacular technological progress at present and, in a higher degree, in a close future. Businessmen in Alicante should be totally open to new technologies with the aim of incorporating them in the production process (machinery, tools, equipments...). It should not be taken into account, though the importance of real achievement in their own business experience, in work routines, in procedure instructions, in plans or industrial drawings, in the design of the products or even in patent documents. The economic globalization makes necessary the adaptation of Alicante's business area to the rapid changes and transformations experimented by technology throughout the time -every time in a shorter period-. Within these development processes, new discoveries and solutions are emerging in order to improve certain productive activities (footwear, toys, food, hotel and textile industry …) or techniques are transferred from one industry to another.

Modernization of the traditional industries

Traditional industries in Alicante have based their competitiveness on wage advantages and mature technologies access for the last decades. Technology modernization and product differentiation have been only partially introduced in some sectors and businesses. Some production sectors are still to be highly modernized. Modernization is still to be done not only in the process or product but also in the adoption of a very receptive philosophy towards innovation in general. Traditional sectors can take advantage of the innovations generated within the most innovative sectors or tecnologies and designs specifically developed for such businesses. The Parque Científico de Alicante is an excellent project to bind progressively these sectors through innovation and competitiveness.

Diversification and terciarization

Economy in Alicante maintains a high diversification on a same structural plan: manpower intensive sectors, mature technologies, weak demand… Nevertheless, it has not reached an acceptable degree of terciarization comparatively -particularly in those services specialized on businesses that increase their competitiveness. It has neither achieved a relevant participation in sectors of strong demand, high technology. The province of Alicante should not renounce to increase progressively non-traditional services and sectors, nor to introduce future successful sectors.

External competitiveness

External competitiveness is the best indicator of our productive sectors and enterprises' health. Accessibility to all kind of information through new technologies and the dropping of barriers to the free market all over the world create a reference unique framework. Within this framework, our enterprises must present an effective innovative capacity required in this global market. Human resource becomes a fundamental key to introduce innovations and, therefore, to preserve the economical competitiveness. Universities provide a highly relevant potential in contexts where there is a lack of research personnel (medium-sized firms, traditional sectors...). Conceiving the Parque Científico de Alicante confers a relevant potential to human resource to technological development and innovation as well as competitiveness in our firms through products whose external commercialization is the best sign of its prospective solidity.

Regional competitiveness

Regions are becoming more and more competitive. Competition is seen through all regions in their infrastructures, modern equipment, especialized services, rational regulator legal frameworks, incentives, environmental quality areas, attractive residential areas...

Europe presents, besides, a gravitational displacement towards the centre as a consequence of the Eastern countries opening. Our country and, specially, southern regions, must substantialy increase their "regional competition" if they want their services and industries to face international competition. Spaces for innovation and technology transfer seem to be a compulsory option in the commitment of saving our productive system.