S U S T E N P O L
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SCIENCE PARK
SUSTENPOL project proposes to establish a science park adapted to the natural growing model by creating primary and advanced processing of the local resources and by creating resource managing interfaces, all these based on innovation principles. SUSTENPOL proposes a mechanism for businesses creation, focused on specialized human resources training to achieve the technical and commercial objectives.
1. Beginnings
In 2000 a project was applied, „Feasibility study for the creation of a Sustainable Development Center in Piatra Neamţ” financed through the RELANSIN program. The solicitant: SC INFAST SRL Piatra Neamţ, partners: ECOFOREST Association, Academy of Romanian Scientists – Neamţ branch. An evaluation of the potential offered by the Neamţ County for Sustainable Development was made.
The next year a project was developed to establish a Sustainable Development Center, but it was not approved for financing.
Meanwhile several other projects, connected to the sustainable development principle, were made: sawdust briquetting, wood aerating, algae cultures, Local Agenda 21 for Ceahlău commune, recovery plastic bottles, water depollution etc.
A portfolio was made with projects and solutions for specific applications.
In 2003 the project „Creative and Innovation Business Incubation Center” was applied in Roznov, Neamţ County, financed through PHARE-RICOP. The solicitant: ECOFOREST Asociation, Neamţ, partners: SC INFAST SRL Piatra Neamţ, Professional Training Center, Roznov. An assistance – consultancy – hosting mechanism was created for the entrepreneurs who wish to start a business.
2. Next expected steps
Based on the knowledge and experience gathered so far we have reached the idea of creating a science park orientated towards applying the concept of sustainable development, SUSTENPOL. The named derives from the English term, sustainable development.
The concretization of this project is based on the experience accumulated from different approaches of the sustainable development concept from the other projects. It was highlighted that the sustainable development is an integrated model in which the main actors are competence, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in a respectful and cherish relationship with the environment. The implementation of this model is also complex and difficult, mainly due to mentality changes that need to take place in resource management in general and especially in renewable ones. The necessity of its implementation is imposed by the new more alarming environment and development conditions.
We can say that enough elements exist to state that the foundation for the future SUSTENPOL is already outlined by integrating the competence – innovation – business elements given by those three organizations, that sooner or later will function as one: Sustainable Development Center + Creative and Innovation Business Incubation Center + Innovation Incubator. Each of these proposes to have a modern management orientated towards an efficient processing of the material, human and financial resources.
To complete this structure, we are negotiating the creation of partnerships with university centers that are interested in sustainable development.
3. SUSTENPOL's components and their role
SUSTENPOL concept is based on three components:
Innovation Incubator
The innovation share is important to ensure products and services competitiveness. It results from tackling fundamental, application research themes and technologic transfer (the path from idea to product).
In parallel, we run a process of training specialized human resources, to put them in practice.
This is why the partnership with the universitary environment is so important.
Creative and Innovation Business Incubation Center
Business incubator has the role of ensuring special assistance to a starting business, when it is vulnerable on the market.
Level 1 incubation refers to ensuring general services and some expert services at lower costs than others firms with the same profile.
Level 2 incubation, the business develops and starts creating its own internal services.
After 3 -5 years the incubated firm is mature enough to leave the incubator leaving the spot for another one. Its “planting” can be done in an individual place or a technologic park.
Sustainable Development Center
This unit has the role of creating conceptual mutations regarding agricultural, forestry, and aquatic renewable resources management. Interfaces are created to integrate some technical sequences between the owners of agriculture fields, woods, and ponds so they use the concepts of ecological exploitation. The products are processed in production facilities from inside the park at a high-level quality.
A set of technological transfer and research projects and programs is created, that is appropriately to the local sustainable development, having important economic, ecologic and social effects.
SUSTENPOL proposes to start an integrated multi-cycle system to tackle the local sustainable development.
SUSTEPOL has the role of monitoring this evolution to determine the products and services life cycle to identify new solutions necessary to satisfy human necessities and exploitation of local resources. Through this monitoring, we check also that the business is on the ideal growing path.
Now we are searching for the most suitable solutions to place the SUSTENPOL's spaces and utilities to ensure the long-term evolution conditions.
4. Proposed development stages
Objective 1: Creating and development the concept of SUSTENPOL INNOVATION
Stage 1. Creating the suitable partnerships, identifying and formulate the main problems
- Producing studies with present day themes and evaluating their practical potential
- Enunciate themes for research projects, creating concepts and proving their feasibility
- Attracting entrepreneurs to exploit the viable results
Stage 2. Creating the premises for inter-cluster interaction
- Creating the inter-relationship concepts, evaluating the viability
- Creating at least a demo cluster
Objective 2: Training capable human resources to apply the concept
Stage 1. Developing the innovation management competences
- CNFPA courses for innovation manager
- Master in innovation management
Stage 2. Developing the competences in sustainable development
- Managerial sciences with a sustainable development component
- Natural and physical sciences focused on sustainable development
Stage 3. Developing the mentalities and competences for competitive businesses
- Businesses incubation
- Innovation incubation
Objective 3. Establishing the SUSTENPOL science park
Stage 1: Establishing a pilot equipment base to process the raw materials from renewable sources
- Choosing the domains to be developed
- Proving the viability of the proposed technical solutions
Stage 2. Create the interface with the suppliers and clients
- Creating the interfaces with the local resources suppliers
- Creating the interfaces with the sustainable products' customers
Stage 3. Development of technological components to support the development of the associated businesses
- Extending the functions characteristic to technological and industrial parks
5. SUSTENPOL's technological orientation
Sustainable development requires that businesses integrate with each other because the efficiency of some of them is ensured only by using al categories of subproducts resulted from processing raw materials.
These aspects have a very high importance for SUSTENPOL, which needs to establish as a global sustainable development project.
Defined domains for SUSTENPOL's activities are:
- Agriculture / forestry / aquaculture in unpolluted and intensive regime: technical cultures for biomaterials, energies, food supply
- Primary processing of forestry and agriculture products: pilot equipments and industrial production plants to obtain commercial products with a higher market value
- Food industry: obtain ecological products
- Biomaterials (from agriculture, forestry and aquaculture sources)
- Energy (from agriculture, forestry and aquaculture sources)
- Other activities
These domains were presented approximately in the order of their priority. The explanation of the choice applies to the sustainable development's principles.
SUSTENPOL's function in the system competence – innovation – businesses increases its need and complexity because it offers technical solutions to exploit the renewable resources to make precuts and services, that will satisfy necessities and functions in a more intense dynamic. It ensures also the premises for technological transfer and acquisition of new and improved equipments and technologies.
