Both the local and national economy benefit from the growing number of science parks. The parks act, among other things, as regional job engines. However, to maximize the benefits, the government should act more as a facilitator.

The number of companies on campuses grew between 2014 and 2018 by 30%, employment by 22%. By comparison, in concerning municipalities, the total number of jobs grew on average by only 6%. This is according to 2018 research by Buck Consultants International commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Founder and director René Buck has been researching the functioning of science parks and campuses in the Netherlands for quite some time. Do the numbers actually tell us that science parks have a positive impact on the growth of local businesses? In other words, wouldn’t those companies also have been created and grown even if they were not located in a science park? Buck: ‘To demonstrate this properly, you would have to study how a group of 100 companies grows on campus compared to 50 similar companies off campus. This is a type of experiment that is not easily performed. However, that companies grow thanks to science parks is evident.’