The First Technopole Ever to Exist - Essay Example

Technopoles: A Regional Initiative Policy Genius Introduction The first technopole ever to exist can found in Japan which was constructed in the 1960's.Since then many developing countries worldwide have adapted this policy due to its relative effectiveness and efficiency.This concept was introduced in Europe in the 80's and has become an important economic development tool in their region since then.Its success was mainly due to its ability to boost regional technology transfer and innovativeness which in effect results to an increase in the level of competitiveness.Nowadays, however, its degree of potency is said to be diminishing and seems to have reached a point of saturation particularly in the industrialized countries like the USA, Japan and those in Western Europe where this concept was first developed. The extent of productivity of the technopole concept was studied carefully in the countries where it is widely used such as the USA, Japan, Germany and South Korea to come up with a list of do's and don't's of this policy for the benefit of the others who are planning to employ this idea in their respective regions in the future.An individual and international comparative study was conducted for this purpose of educating other regions around the world about the economic impact of this concept.Several important aspects of the technopole concept in each country was taken into consideration namely its current stage in their life cycle and its position or role of this concept in their respective countries or regions and the action they made in overcoming the weaknesses of this concept such as its inadequate ability to enhance regional technology transfer and networking.This was done to further give an understanding of the ways in which they can make substantial contributions to the formation of sustainable innovations, capabilities and for the main purpose of its development which is to jumpstart and catalyze socioeconomic development. Through the years, mixed views on technopoles have been exposed questioning its utility as development policy tool.The prevailing trend however, is a continued interest and expansion as many experts support the notion that technopoles are indeed a useful means of technology transfer and in both national and local economic development. A famous success story of technopoles is California's Silicon Valley which has generated numerous jobs and new technology.This success is usually attributed to the benefits of agglomeration which include possibilities of group procurement, joint services, infrastructure arrangements and marketing and enhanced availability of skilled labour.This means to show that technopoles merge in various forms of entities together to achieve a common goal or mission. Technopolis Fever in Japan Technopolis became known to be a hybrid of two concepts: that of a center for promotion of research and development and innovative technology, such as Silicon Valley, and that of even much older Garden City notions that were imported from England early in the twentieth century and were revived as one of the chief planks of the Ohhira government platform.In Japan, the initial phase of discussions concerning technopolis, the main theme was to be the building of another Tsukuba (a huge conglomeration of technological and production facilities, as well as universities), or miniature conglomerations modeled on Tokyo, as the model in a few selected regions. From the observation of the initial stage in the Tohoku region case, the impact of the cluster programmers on the revitalization of the local-regional economy or the forging of regional systems of innovation seems to be rather low in comparison with that of Techno polis policy.In startling contrast to the good times of the early 1980s when the Technopolis policy stimulated a whirlwind of "high-tech fantasy" as futurological conjecture, in these days of severe depression, broader and enlightened challenges are needed which will help the local-region break out of a cycle of pessimism, keep the people thinking about change and push their horizon toward vision of a hopeful future. The Technopole Concept Technopoles are known to be the "melting pot" of scientific and industrial activities in a well-defined geographical area encompassing a city, suburb or a rural area.It is a high tech site for research, development and manufacturing.Here, a vast exchange of specialization and expertise occurs due to the interaction of the institutions present provided by their close proximity to each other.It is focused on cultivating knowledge-based and innovative businesses and other organizations or institutions present in the area, support technology transfer and enhance their business skills.This definition also gives emphasis on the possession of the property and its links to a research institution or university.Other definitions of technopoles gives important mission elements and performance criteria while others concentrate on providing aid for new technology-based firms.Technopoles are generally composed of two components: the tenant firms and the technologies it cultivates. Technopoles performs two important tasks.First is what we refer to as technology brokering wherein they support their tenant firms by providing them with technical assistance with an updated technological knowledge through their partnership with the university research center.Second is the establishment of business contacts and linkages as well as general assistance. Strategic planning is done to ensure the success of a technopole.A successful technopole has the following blend of essential ingredients: a desirable environment conducive for work which particularly attracts tenant firms and their employees to the area, presence of nearby research institutions or universities which provides easy access to research facilities and technology transfer, and a skilled manpower usually supplied by the universities in the area. Expansion of technopoles depends hugely on the tenant firms residing in the site.These firms are usually attracted to stay in this region to foster existing relations with other businesses as well as in the creation of new relationships with the other entities within this region.These relationship's formation are important in creating a firm foundation for the technopole.Another important factor in luring tenant firms to the technople is due to the prestige and status it entails as you become a member of this organization producing a so called "herd effect". Another important role of a technopole is its ability to facilitate the creation of networks.This is the possibility of bringing into close contact the businesses and researchers that work hand-in-hand to help cater to the mutual needs of each member within this region.Co-operation is a must in achieving a common goal. It is wiser to attract universities and research institutions over the place since this is said to be more advantageous in the long run than having production divisions.This is due to the fact that spin-off firms generally originate from the research and development of the universities.This is the reason why technopoles are said to be a seedbed for technological advancements. Technopole can become an important tool for local development which is apparent in the formatio of new businesses and in the generation of employment opportunities.The extent of employment generation potential in technopoles, however, is still being studied.It is said that technopoles have at times failed in this aspect due to the unrealistic expectations occurred during the planning and early stages of the technopole.A good illustration of this is the attribution of the success of Silicon Valleyto the Stanford Research Park. One of the most (or probably the most) important role of a technopolis is for technology transfer.This is done by facilitating a contact between the research institutions into the business domain.Feedback from one business to another is of great importance in technology transfer as this not only improves the technology but also removes barriers and hindrances in the communication between the members in the group.These barriers are usually the lack of awarenessin both the businesses and the researchers and even their in cooperation with the activities.The latter is due to the different value systems in both parties, pressure in academic life. Perfectionism, and impracticality, in comprise, irresponsibility among the members.Technology transfer is often termed as hierarchical diffusion due to the presence of a technology broker which is usually an organization that possesses skills for the copyright of technology.In the hierarchical diffusion process, a tenant firm receives technological knowledge from a research body and in turn, shares this knowledge to the other members in the site. Technopoles become an innovation center through the interaction and exchange of ideas between researchers and entrepreneurs.Proximity between commercial research and development, production and marketing is emphasized for successful innovation.Superior means of communication is also important to ensure a continuous flow of information which would further strengthen the image of a technopole as innovation center.Business skills are also important in ensuring the successful implementation technology inputs. As an institution, technopole is made up of components and "actors" in carrying out their operations.These "actors" are grouped into two classes: the participants and the promoters.Participants are mainly the tenant firms, universities and research institutions while the promoters include the political institutions governing the pole. The basic components of a technopole are small start-up firms, firms with activities whose goal is to make business with companies outside the pole (outward-looking tenant firms), and firms who aims to do business within the site (inward-looking firms), research facilities and universities. All of these components mingle together maintaining a healthy relationship in order to maintain balance within the technopole's premises.The presence of a technopole manager that ensures that everything is kept in order and that all the operations are performed well. A political backing as well as promotion is vital to the success of the technopole since the development of the technopole is mainly for economic growth and development at the local and national levels.Proper amount of support should be monitored though to avoid exploitation of this entity. The development of a technopole can be visualized in two stages: the institutional and then the entrepreneurial stage.The first stage is concerned in the construction of the park's facilities, building, infrastructures and set-up.This doe not draw significant increase in employment levels since the research institution usually brings in its own staff.The latter stage, the entrepreneurial stage comes a few years later.At this stage, resident enterprises will be expected to succeed in their respective ventures, generating employment and enhancing technology-led economic growth.A viable technopole is successful in both stages.The second stage is the critical of the two because at this stage the research institutions can start their own enterprises basing on their researches. Support from the community is very important in the success of the technopole since it is hard to operate with lack of support, acceptance and assistance on the part of local organizations.Legislative frameworks and flexible institutional regulations are essential.A desirable entrepreneurial culture is also very helpful as well as the existence of liberal financing policies. Bibliography Cooke, P. et al.(1998).Regional Innovation Systems: the Role of Governance in a Globalized World(2nd Ed.)New York: Routledge Castells, M. & Hall, P.(1994).Technopoles of the World.London, New York: Routledge. Fisher, J.(1995).Geography and Development: A World Regional Approach.New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Abe, H. & J. Alden (1988).Regional Development Planning in Japan. Regional Studies, Vol.22, No.5, pp.429-438. Castells, M.(1985).High Technology, Space and Society.Beverly Hills, London: Sage. 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