Innovation Park

Innovation Park may refer to:

Park

A park is an area of natural, semi-natural, or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of grassy areas, rocks, soil, and trees, but may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as monuments, fountains or playground structures. In North America, many parks have fields for playing sports such as soccer, baseball and football, and paved areas for games such as basketball. Many parks have trails for walking, biking and other activities. Some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses, and these parks may comprise a beach or boat dock area. Often, the smallest parks are in urban areas, where a park may take up only a city block or less. Urban parks often have benches for sitting and they may contain picnic tables and barbecue grills. Parks have differing rules regarding whether dogs can be brought into the park: some parks prohibit dogs; some parks allow them with restrictions (e.g., use of a leash); and some parks, which may be called "dog parks," permit dogs to run off-leash.

Innovation

Innovation is a new idea, or more-effective device or process. Innovation can be viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs. This is accomplished through more-effective products, processes, services, technologies, or business models that are readily available to markets, governments and society. The term "innovation" can be defined as something original and more effective and, as a consequence, new, that "breaks into" the market or society.

While a novel device is often described as an innovation, in economics, management science, and other fields of practice and analysis, innovation is generally considered to be the result of a process that brings together various novel ideas in a way that they have an impact on society.

Inter-disciplinary views

Business and economics

In business and economics, innovation can be a catalyst to growth. With rapid advancements in transportation and communications over the past few decades, the old world concepts of factor endowments and comparative advantage which focused on an area’s unique inputs are outmoded for today’s global economy. Economist Joseph Schumpeter, who contributed greatly to the study of innovation economics, argued that industries must incessantly revolutionize the economic structure from within, that is innovate with better or more effective processes and products, as well as market distribution, such as the connection from the craft shop to factory. He famously asserted that “creative destruction is the essential fact about capitalism”. In addition, entrepreneurs continuously look for better ways to satisfy their consumer base with improved quality, durability, service, and price which come to fruition in innovation with advanced technologies and organizational strategies.

Vodafone Innovation Park

The Vodafone Innovation Park is a combination of services and environment. Based on the Vodafone Innovation Park Labs (formerly Test & Innovation Center) run by Vodafone Germany it adds services and development possibilities for prototyping. It is located in Duesseldorf and Eschborn, Germany. In 2012 it seceded from the Vodafone Test and Innovation Center.

Service description

The Vodafone Innovation Park

McMaster Innovation Park

McMaster Innovation Park (or MIP) is a 54 acre research facility located approximately 2 kilometers from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. McMaster Innovation Park is an important part of the innovative ecosystem in Hamilton by supporting startups, business, research and offering collaborative space for each sector to co-locate, connect and commercialize; a place to transform ideas from vision to commercial reality. Entrepreneurs, firms, researchers, industry partners, business mentors and support facilities can connect and facilitate commercialization. MIP is committed to using sustainable design principles, transforming former brownfields into a premier research park at a LEED silver or higher level. MIP has a vision to be an internationally recognized focal point for innovation, creativity, learning and research excellence aligned with the research strengths of McMaster University. MIP currently houses three buildings: the Atrium@MIP, CanmetMATERIALS and the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre. MIP envisions 10 buildings on site within 10 years with 1,500-1,800 people working full-time. MIP is also host to the United Nations University - Institute of Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).