The South West RDA has evolved a consistent approach to its investment in workspace and Innovation Centre and Science Park projects. categorising projects according to the degree of intervention within client businesses:

• Workspace and Business Parks purely focus on providing property for all kinds of businesses. The Agency is looking to develop links with external business advisors to increase the value of these investments to the local economy
• Innovation Centres or Incubators have an explicit objective to grow businesses. The key is dynamic staff actively assisting clients to survive and thrive. With good local, regional and national networks, they are hubs for innovation and enterprise, combining high level, flexible integrated support with a physical home for the majority of their clients
• Science Parks have an explicit economic development aim to develop a substantial cluster of knowledge based businesses, usually linked to a University, public or private research institute. They normally include a substantial incubation component but on a much larger scale.

This policy has evolved from the original Incubation & Science Park Strategy (Adobe Acrobat Reader Document - 811.31kb) published after extensive consultation in 2003. The key elements from the board paper of January 2007 are outlined in the Incubation Guidance (Adobe Acrobat Reader Document - 237.97kb).