The International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP) has released its latest Global Survey, a comprehensive report on the state of play and current trends in our industry. The data was gathered over the course of 2021 with 113 STPs from almost 50 countries responding, with the final publication including more than 100 charts and tables that give insight into the STP industry.

The urban nature of STPs are highlighted, with more than 84% of respondents finding themselves located in cities of various sizes. This highlights the relevance of links to local governments, businesses and civil society, as well as the importance of an urban location in attracting knowledge workers to the STP. This is particularly reinforced by the fact that of the minority of respondents not located in a city, 63.2% are based near a large city.

The increasing role of ‘the private’ was also shown in this report, with 49.6% of respondents having either private or mixed ownership. This is particularly common in Africa and North America where mixed ownership is the predominant model, and marks a change from the 2018 publication in which almost 60% of respondents reported to be publically owned.

The report also analyses in depth the main technology sectors in STPs, with again, ICT being the most common sector. Present in 82.3% of STPs it shows the importance of the computing sector to our industry, something further reinforced by the fact that the next most common responses were the computer science and software engineering sectors.

Exclusive for this publication is a bumper chapter on the effects of COVID-19 on the industry. It explores the ways in which STPs adapted, the economic impact of the pandemic, support residents received and the ways in which management teams adjusted. Respondents were also asked about their future expectations, with a resounding 95.6% anticipating stability or growth for the future, something which highlights the strength and adaptability of the industry.

The Global Survey also looks at STP infrastructure, budgets, funding, specialisation, services, companies, and much more. IASP full members can read the publication for free, whilst others can purchase it here.