BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN: Some Lessons from Technology Led Local Economic Development Initiatives

The experiences of the Japanese technopolis program and British science parks are evaluated with a view of identifying the extent to which the success of technology led local economic development initiatives is due to accident, in the form of largely unplanned factors, or design in the form of planned local initiatives. Reference is made not only to general studies of the two initiatives but also to detailed case study material relating to the Shinanogawa/Nagaoka technopolis in Japan and Cambridge Science Park in Britain. The findings of the studies support the view that technology led initiatives must be regarded as essentially facilitating mechanisms which, in the right circumstances, can play a useful role in promoting local economic development.