Incubators can be established in urban, suburban or rural locations. This article sets out some of the issues to watch when looking for the best location for a new incubator.
Objectives
The best definition of the preferred location is choosing an area that satisfies the incubator’s current and future needs. As highlighted by Aranha (2003), “the location is a part of the economic development plan of the region in which the project is being carried out”.
The location depends on the incubator’s focus, since the companies’ activities may demand characteristics found in few of the region’s localities.
According to the NBIA, location differentiates incubators into the following categories:
- Urban: incubators located in the city. This is more common for technology-based, traditional, mixed and sectoral incubators that do not need large areas nor have “assembly lines” with high noise levels.
- Suburban: these incubators are located in areas surrounding the city and can be part of the overall plan designed to recover, revitalize or develop a given region. Social and cultural incubators commonly use these localities.
- Rural: incubators located in rural areas and, generally, connected to centers of agricultural production.
Key Issues
Choice of an incubator’s location must give due consideration to its focus and the specific characteristics of the region in question. Several critical questions must be dealt with:
- Infrastructure: an evaluation is made of whether the locality has adequate infrastructure for generating companies. This includes transportation systems, sanitation services, electricity and communications. The existence of a good infrastructure in the locality may not have a direct influence on the incubator’s demand; but a deficient infrastructure may reduce the number of companies interested in the incubator’s support.
- Flexibility: the incubator project must take account not only of current demand, but also future growth in both the physical facilities and its focus. If the available area does not allow for expansion, the incubator may rapidly reach its limits, thereby hampering its performance.
- Focus: the activities of incubated companies may directly influence the locality for the incubator. For example: a technology-based incubator may need to be close to a university to encourage interaction among entrepreneurs, academics and students.
- Master Plan: in defining the incubator’s locality, the city’s master plan is taken into consideration, so as to adequately position the incubator within the city’s growth strategy. On the other hand, depending on the incubator’s focus, the location may be defined as being in areas that are underprivileged. For example: social incubators.
Responsible Parties
The team charged with detailing the project will choose the location of the incubator. Local government should be contacted for information on the master plan and the infrastructure of different areas of the city in which the incubator may be installed.
Indicators
To assist with the choice of localities the following are taken into account:
- Ease of access
- Availability of communications
- Availability of basic sanitation services
- Availability of transportation
Results
Siting the incubator at an appropriate location can help publicize the incubator within the community.
For a Portuguese version, please click on the link below: