Incubators usually have three managerial levels, and this article sets out the roles of each of: Board of Directors; Incubator Management; and Consultant Committee.
Objectives
To define a structure that makes management of the incubator possible. There are two groups of activities generally present in an incubator:
- Those related to operation of the incubator as an independent organization (a business); and
- Those related to developing the incubated companies.
As noted by Pires (2003), the management structure of an incubator “is normally composed of three managerial levels”:
- Board of Directors: also known as the Executive Council, Technical Council, Guidance Council, Curator Council or Deliberative Council, it has representatives from each one of the organizations that participated in the incubator’s formation and/or aided in making it operational, and/or provided economic/financial support.
- Incubator Management: this level includes the president or director of the incubator, the manager and his/her staff, which may include the secretary, mentors and tutors.
- Consultant Committee: specialized consultants who aid the manager in his/her task of orienting the companies.
Key Issues
In conceiving the organizational structure of the incubator, defining the responsibilities of each role is essential. In general, the following definition of responsibilities is found in incubators:
- Board of Directors: Among the responsibilities of this body, the following is highlighted, as proposed by Rice and Mathews (in PIRES, 2003. p. 7):
- Develop and improve a strategic plan for incubator policies;
- Develop policies about how the team operates and the role of the president;
- Control the external relationships of staff and the incubator;
- Support the business operations of the incubator;
- Support development of incubator companies.
- Incubator Management: generally consists of the president, manager and secretary, each with the following responsibilities:
- President: this person plays a political and strategic role for the incubator, including interaction with the different institutions, creation/broadening of the contact network and monitoring of the incubator’s growth and consolidation.
- Manager: has direct contact with the incubated companies and is directly responsible for monitoring the evolution of these companies. The success (or failure) of an incubator can be generally credited to work of the manager. The role of the manager may involve the following:
- Management of facilities;
- Maintenance of shared services;
- Management of staff and trainees;
- Management of marketing for incubated companies;
- Management of the accounting and finances of the incubator;
- Procurements.
- Secretary: supports the manager, and the liaises with the incubator’s external public;
- Mentors/Tutors: these may be, in some incubators, entrepreneurs who have already created their own successful company and assist in orienting the incubated companies.
- Consultant Committee: the incubator needs access to a varied group of professionals, so as to meet all the needs of the incubated companies. A diversity of professionals are not part of the incubator management team but rather contracted separately to respond to specific needs.
Responsible Parties
The team that creates the incubator must work out the organization’s managerial structure in detail. The participating organizations must be proactive in defining the incubator’s organizational structure.
Results
The result of this topic is a clear definition of all the functions that will exist in the incubator. After this, the size and characteristics of staff can be defined
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