UKSPA News
Delegates commended the conference for its valuable content
More than 150 delegates attended the UKSPA Conference at Colworth Park in February
It was encouraging to hear about the steps that Paul Barber and his team at Discovery Park are taking to address the challenges of turning around such a large facility at Sandwich by building an interactive community ( which includes a strong commitment to working with local schools ) as the basis of creating a compelling case for locating at Sandwich .
Delegates also heard from Angus Horner of Prorsus & Partners . Backed by Development Securities plc , Prorsus & Partners acquired Goodman ’ s position in Harwell in 2013 . It was encouraging to hear how they are getting to grips with the various technologies at Harwell and the need for affordable housing as part of the mix . It was interesting to hear about what they see as their key challenges in creating an interactive campus in practice , and their investment plans for the future .
Whilst the engagement of private sector partners such as developers and investors is not new , there has been a sharp increase in the number of private sectorled science parks in recent years . It is vital that they are successful from a financial , business and technological perspective . This will depend on effective governance and the allocation of resources ( people and funding ) between new property development , asset management and the development of business linkages to create compelling propositions .
Marrying the property and the technological components of Science Parks is not easy . It ’ s an important theme that will no doubt feature at future UKSPA meetings .
Colworth raises the bar at UKSPA conference
Colworth Park has long been associated with scientific excellence and innovation in its time as a major research centre for Unilever and it ’ s a reputation that is set to grow further as the site develops . The UKSPA event gave Colworth Park the opportunity to showcase its facilities and capabilities .
As well as hosting the event , the Colworth Park team were able to share the story of the site ’ s success in creating a dynamic and collaborative tenant community .
Keith Purdie , Business Development Director at Colworth Park , spoke to delegates about the heritage of the Park , its mixed tenant community and plans for future growth . He also gave advice on the importance of working with the local community and how to foster best practice and engagement with stakeholders .
He said : “ We were delighted to be able to host the UKSPA Conference at Colworth Park . It is an important event , and there ’ s so much packed into the two days , but it was also a great opportunity to show off the Park , and
share some of our plans for its future . “ It was a fantastic opportunity to highlight some of the innovative tenants that we have working here and talk a bit about the exciting work that they do .” He added : “ We were looked after tremendously well by the events team , and I ’ ve received nothing but compliments from delegates about how well the event went , how valuable it was to them and how great the food was . I think we really raised the bar for this event .”
Penny Williams , Managing Director of Orchadia Solutions , told the conference about the benefits of being located at Colworth Park , which they use as both a showroom and their workplace .
She went on to reveal how relocating to the Park has enabled her company to double in size and described the leading science park as an “ inspiring business location ”.
Jim Duvall , UKSPA ’ s Membership Manager , said : “ I ’ m delighted to say this was UKSPA ’ s best ever event – an opinion that is shared by many that I spoke to at the conference . We ’ d like to thank Colworth Park for the hard work they ’ ve put in and for successfully
The UKSPA event gave Colworth Park the opportunity to showcase both its facilities and capabilities
showcasing the very best practice in the Science Park sector .”
This year ’ s conference was commended for its valuable content . Topics covered included regional innovation , business investment , stakeholder engagement and local network growth to social ventures and society ’ s new ‘ super-labs ’.
SUMMER 2016 21