Learning Parks: New Approach to Designing New Millenniums Parks

Science-technology parks were first made in industrial countries for these purposes: help the growth of SMEs, help the local economy and support the emerging organizations, science transition from universities and science centers to the industry and commercialize it. Gradually this kind of science parks were made in developing countries, the difference is that in developing countries, parks are not independent and are supported by their government. Since the policies of governments of these countries are changing very fast, their policy of supporting is not predictable and so it seems necessary for parks to be independent from the governments supports. In this turbulent world that is based on non-linear changes and opportunity exploitation, learning organizations are successful in defeating the external threads and environmental changes. Learning or knowledge-creating organizations are those, that rather than the staff the organization itself, increases its ability constantly to meet its final goals. In fact a learning organization is skillful in science creation, acquisition and transition, and uses its new acquired knowledge in changing and promoting. One of the most important characteristics of these organizations is double-loop learning. It means that they can learn constantly from their environment and update their norms simultaneously, so they will be coordinated with environment and can promote themselves. They sense the need of learning and want to learn. they are aware. Whenever they find a problem, they do not hesitate to solve it, so they wont be accustomed to the problems. They have innovative and learning staff. They use their experience and science simultaneously and look for the problems origin from the inside. By these characteristics, learning organizations could be coordinated with environment and in spite of fast changes of industry and technology, new inventions and discoveries, they could stay permanently. This article reviews the principles of the learning organizations and science parks in developing\ncountries and suggests a model for science parks to be changed into a learning park, so they could sense and track the environmental changes and put these changes into their norms and improve their function and continue to live in this turbulent world.