Services And Programs

In The Beginning...

In 1986, a handful of farsighted research park directors, recognizing that the concept of university related research parks and technology incubators was taking hold in corporate board rooms around the world, organized the first international conference in the United States to discuss the future of research parks. From that gathering in Tempe, Arizona, the Association of University Related Research Parks (AURRP), was formed in response to a growing interest in research and development activities based in unique planned properties. The name was subsequently changed to the Association of University Research Parks (AURP).

A non-profit international organization, AURP represents these planned technology developments, alternatively referred to as research, science or technology parks, which are designed to promote university-industry relations, to foster innovation, and to facilitate the transfer of technology from academe to the private sector. Today, the Association serves over 200 members around the world. It was during the 1980's that a surgence of research parks and technology incubators took hold. Prior to 1980 only a handful of such developments had been undertaken. Today more than 400 research parks worldwide are in varying stages of zaycev development. Technology incubators in the U.S., virtually nonexistent until the early 1980's, now number in the hundreds, a large number of which are core elements of U.S. research parks.