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Simone Strauf
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PublicationType: journal articleJournal: Transformations in Business & EconomicsVolume: 7Issue: 1
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PublicationType: journal articleJournal: Geographica Helvetica : schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geographie und VölkerkundeVolume: 62Issue: 4
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PublicationScience parks and their contribution to regional development : The example of the Campus Tulln TechnopoleThe Austrian federal state of Lower Austria pursues a set of policies to stimulate innovation with two goals in mind: persisting in the competition between locations and benefiting from EU enlargement. A cornerstone of that set of policies is the extension of the state's technopoles. The technopole pro-gramme's goals are to stimulate innovation processes and to contribute to the creation of new techno-logical knowledge and its application in the economy. The Campus Tulln Technopole was created in 2006 as one of four technopoles in Lower Austria. The University and Research Centre Tulln (UFT), which houses the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), crucially invigorated the technopole in 2011. This article's goal is to demonstrate the UFT and the Campus Tulln's effects on the surrounding region and how those effects can be measured. The involved players have different goals and expectations regarding the research centre. BOKU and the AIT hope for high-quality research and (international) recognition in the scientific community, which they hope will be facilitated by the excellent research conditions and synergies between the two insti-tutions. The city of Tulln and the government of Lower Austria, for their part, aim at improving the posi-tioning of the region as a place to do research. In addition, the creation of jobs for highly qualified em-ployees is important to them. They also seek a transfer of knowledge and technology from and to (re-gional and supra-regional) firms and an upgrade of educational institutions in the area. There are examples of institutions in other countries that have successfully combined academic and applied research for many years. Six of those institutions were analysed as reference projects. Our analysis shows that, depending on an institution's strategic orientation and its environment, either education, research or the transfer of knowledge have a preeminent position. In order to benefit from growth potential, for example through the attraction of technology-oriented companies to the region or the growth of existing local companies, well-functioning transfer mechanisms for knowledge and tech-nology are imperative. Past experience suggests that a research centre can create growth effects if the knowledge it produces can be harnessed to benefit regional firms. Careful examination of the reference projects also showed that a technopole with its research institu-tions is an important player in a regional network, which influences the attractiveness and quality of an entire region. Three areas are particularly relevant in the context of the UFT: "Research and educa-tion", "knowledge and technology transfer" and "locational quality". In the area of research and educa-tion (joint) research projects and attractive educational offers contribute to the positioning as a re-nowned place of higher education. An attractive institution of higher education facilitates the attraction of highly qualified employees and increases students' demand for university places. Applied research and the cooperation with regional companies play a key role in the transfer of knowledge and technol-ogy. The UFT offers products and services to corporate clients and, within the framework of applied research projects, works on commercially relevant problems. Companies strive to stay competitive and have a constant demand for innovation. That demand can be met by the UFT's services, from which both the UFT and (regional) companies benefit. Tulln's positioning as a place to do business depends on the competitiveness of local companies, which has a direct influence on the number of jobs and the quality of the workforce. Based on the relationships within the regional network, a tool to monitor the outcomes for the region can be created. Cause-effect-chains are used for the development of a (regional) impact monitoring, which produces a set of impact and outcome indicators for the UFT and the technopole as a whole. The ongoing evaluation of those key indicators is essentially aimed at making the centre's regional effects transparent. Moreover, it enables a regular reflection on the observable regional effects and, in consequence, the creation of a strategic steering mechanism. The UFT as a key player on the Campus Tulln Technopole might produce regional effects in the fields of knowledge transfer and locational quality. The UFT's success helps to promote the campus, the city of Tulln and the state of Lower Austria as places of science and research both nationally and interna-tionally. Apart from the UFT's impact on the region's image, effects on the campus's daily operations should not be neglected. A good image ultimately depends as much on workers' loyalty to their em-ployers and to the region as a whole as on the commitment of the participating institutes to the Cam-pus Tulln and Lower Austria as places to undertake research.Type: conference paper
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PublicationThe contribution of cultural infrastructure and events to regional developmentThe importance of creative industries and the creative sector for economic growth and regional development has increasingly found its way into scientific discussions. These discussions mainly focus on the influence of creative industries on the innovative ability (innovative milieu), the competitiveness and the labour market of regions and nations. Most prominent within this field is the approach of the "creative class" used to explain the success and the development of cities and regions. So far, the terms and definitions describing creative industries and the cultural sector are not consistent and sometimes include different businesses. The meaning of the cultural sector becomes more evident when one focuses on the regional level. Infrastructure facilities and cultural events are part of the cultural sector and are located in nearly every area, in agglomerations as well as in rural areas. This paper will concentrate on the role of infrastructure facilities and cultural events, and will point out their contribution and their potential for the location itself and for regional development. The authors will use empirical data from infrastructure facilities in Germany and Switzerland (Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden) and two amateur theatres in Switzerland, which are located in rural areas (Einsiedler Welttheater, Landschaftstheater Ballenberg). Based on these four case examples the paper will show how differently cultural facilities and activities can contribute to several aspects of regional development. As a result the paper will state that cultural infrastructure facilities and activities have positive effects on the regional added value as well as on the image of a region, on networks and competencies within a region and on the identity of a region. These so-called intangible effects, in particular, influence the location's attractiveness and the competitiveness of the region in a positive wayType: conference paper
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PublicationType: conference paper
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PublicationNew Ways through the Alps: The New Gotthard Base Tunnel - Impact of a Big Construction Site on A Small Mountain Village( 2005-08-25)
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PublicationHow to measure the economic impacts of mega-events - the example of the World Economic Forum in Davos( 2003-08-28)
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