The Research Center of the Parliament emphasized on reviewing the way of monitoring and evaluating the science and technology parks, and considered it necessary to establish specialized and demand-oriented parks with the participation of the private sector.
According to Iran digital economy annotation, the Research Center of the Islamic Council in a report entitled “Presenting a preliminary model for the classification of the science and technology parks in the country based on evaluation and performance indicators, a preliminary model with the help of indicators based on productivity and efficiency for parks It has been proposed with an income of more than one thousand billion tomans.
Due to the lack of a specific standard for providing statistics by science and technology parks, the need to develop specific standards and guidelines for measuring evaluation indicators is felt, and it is necessary for science and technology parks to collect data in more detail and They should be more diligent in presenting it to the evaluation institutions.
The reports of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology show that the number of employees located in all science and technology parks is more than 73 thousand people and the total income of the parks in 2022 was about 23 thousand billion tomans.
The highest total income was announced by Pardis Technology Park (about 20 thousand billion tomans) (of course, this number is different from the amount of 427 billion tomans reported to the Ministry of Science), followed by Isfahan Scientific Research Town with about 5.5 thousand billion tomans. Next, the parks of Semnan, Alborz, East Azarbaijan, Tehran University and Fars provinces are located with an income base of at least one thousand billion tomans higher.
The total income from the export of science and technology parks in 2022 is 123 million dollars, of which about 90% belongs to science and technology parks with an income of more than one thousand billion tomans.
Performance of selected science and technology parks according to evaluation indicators
– The number of companies and units located in Isfahan Scientific Research Town with 641 units is the highest compared to others, and after that, East Azarbaijan Park and Pardis are in the next ranks with 441 and 317 units, respectively.
– The largest number of employees have been reported by Pardis Park and Isfahan Scientific Research Town, about 8,500 people. Employment statistics are general, and no breakdown of the amount of employment for knowledge-based companies, technology units, start-ups, accelerators and the like has been provided.
– On average, 30% of the companies located in the selected parks are knowledge-based. In Tehran University Park, more than 50% of the companies are knowledge-based, and Semnan and East Azerbaijan Parks have the lowest number of knowledge-based companies with 11 and 14%.
– On average, about 25% of the employees of the selected parks (with an income base of at least one thousand billion tomans and above) are considered research and development employees (with graduate degrees).
– The average job creation in Pardis Park, Semnan, Alborz and Tehran University is higher than other selected parks, but it cannot be said with certainty that this job creation and its annual increase is due to the growth and maturity of the start-up company and its transformation into a larger company. Due to the increase in the establishment of start-up businesses and accelerators.
– Isfahan Scientific Research Town had the highest export income with the amount of 53.5 million dollars compared to other selected parks in 2022, followed by Pardis Technology Park with 16.5 million dollars.
– Campus Technology Park has had the highest labor productivity due to its high income (nearly 2.4 billion Tomans/person per year). However, the export productivity of Isfahan Scientific Research Town is in the first place with a distance from other parks (nearly 6400 dollars/person/year).
– The average technical knowledge developed in Fars Park is about 1.4. That is, for every company located in the park, there are 1.4 pieces of commercialized technical knowledge. This ratio is equal to 0.5 in Alborz Science and Technology Park and Isfahan Research Town, and it shows that 50% of the companies based there have been able to develop and commercialize a technical knowledge. Similarly, in parks such as Tehran University, East Azarbaijan and Semnan, the index value is 0.3. This ratio is 0.1 in the campus technology park.
Presenting the classification model of science and technology parks based on the productivity indicators of total income and exports and average commercialized technical knowledge
Research parks: Although these parks are in relatively acceptable condition in terms of developed technical knowledge, they have low productivity in Riyal and dollars. The research and development nature of established companies, the long process of developing technical knowledge and the weakness in technology transfer are among the reasons for their low income and productivity per employed person.
The need to attract capital, the government’s priority to support the financing of these types of parks within a specific and limited period of time, strengthening the establishment of accelerators, brokers and research and technology funds in order to help transfer and commercialize technology in them is felt. Selected examples: Tehran University Park, East Azerbaijan Park.
Technology Parks: The main feature of these parks is high export efficiency and average commercialized technical knowledge. Export income is considered as a significant part of the park’s total income. However, depending on the size of the park and employment in it or the level of developed technologies (average or superior), the productivity of the total income can be variable.
The need to focus on the commercialization of superior technologies, increasing the participation of small and medium-sized knowledge-based companies in the value chain, creating infrastructure related to technology pilots and semi-industrial workshops for the development of start-up businesses, paying attention to intellectual property, patents and brands And efforts to establish agents and attract private sector capital are felt in these parks. Selected examples: Isfahan Scientific Research Town, Alborz Park, Semnan and Fars.
Industrial parks (business): the main focus of these parks is on job creation, production and income generation, mainly relying on domestic markets. Therefore, their export productivity and average commercialized technical knowledge are low.
Because these parks are large, reliable and have opportunities to attract capital from large and mature companies, the ability to effectively network between stakeholders including industry, knowledge-based companies and universities, networking of science and technology parks with different functions, creating They have pilot and semi-industrial production platforms, setting up research and development units for large industries and strengthening export capacities. Selected example: Campus Technology Park.
The most important indicators evaluated in this report are: the number of knowledge-based companies and technological units located in the park, employment rate, total income and exports.
The studied parks with an income of more than ten thousand billion Rials (one thousand billion tomans) are: Isfahan Science and Research Town, Campus Technology Park, Semnan Science and Technology Park, East Azerbaijan Science and Technology Park, Alborz Science and Technology Park, Tehran University Science and Technology Park, Fars Science and Technology Park.
Parks with low rial and dollar productivity: research parks
Tehran University Science and Technology Park and East Azarbaijan Science and Technology Park are largely research in nature. Therefore, the connection of research and development processes to the transfer and sale of technology and product production in them occurs slowly and needs to be strengthened. In a general sense, these parks are not production-oriented, and therefore their income range and income diversity are not high.
Parks with high dollar productivity / diversified rial productivity
Isfahan Scientific Research Town, Alborz Science and Technology Park, Semnan and with some concessions Fars Science and Technology Park are in this category. A significant part of the income of these types of parks comes from export earnings, and the development of technical knowledge and commercialized technology in them is also acceptable.
This means that the quality and competitiveness of products and services in the export market depends on the development of technical knowledge and technology, and parks with high export productivity where on average 50% of the companies located in them have at least one commercialized technical knowledge and technology. They are technological in nature.
However, the diversity of Rial productivity can be caused by the size of the science and technology park (large or medium) or by the amount of income earned according to the level of commercialized technology. Therefore, the technological parks with higher Rial productivity are attributed to those parks whose employment rate is lower than others.
Parks with high riyal productivity, low dollar productivity: industrial parks (business)
In this type of parks, the main focus is on production, income generation and job creation. Therefore, the creation of new technologies and the commercialization of intellectual assets are less common in them and are among the next priorities of these types of parks. Therefore, the low level of competitiveness of the technologies developed in the park will affect the export earnings to some extent.
The current information extracted from the introduced indicators shows that the income of Pardis Technology Park and as a result its real productivity is significantly higher than other selected parks and its average commercialized technical knowledge is lower than all the parks (10 percent) which It has had a negative effect on export income and export productivity.
This park has stated that the informal income from exports of established companies is close to its official export income, but even including informal exports, the ratio of export income to the total income of this park is about 7%.
Pardis Technology Park has provided the necessary platforms for the presence of 34% of knowledge-based companies, as well as a significant number of start-up businesses and accelerators, and its employment generation is high. In any case, the resulting output (focusing on income generation and job creation) shows that this park is an industrial (business) and production-oriented park in the category of science and technology parks, the companies located there have mature technologies and are focused on domestic markets.
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