Visible, Virtual and Viable: Hard, Soft and Netware Implications

Science parks and incubators have been increasingly visible tools in the mainstream pursuit of an entrepreneurial high tech, high productivity, high growth and high wage economy. They help to bridge the gap between new knowledge and commercial application and so accelerate the derivation of wealth from research investments. As such, they are ubiquitous in policy and infrastructure development initiatives in the widest variety of context and countries. So far, so good! The new economy, on the other hand, is also with us and while virtual in important respects it is vital that we all embrace it or be left behind in the global competitive race. The fundamental paradigm has changed, or so we are told!