In the '80s and '90s, many research parks fell victim to what Bruce Wright calls the "Edifice Complex." "They thought if they invested in real estate and created a park, that would instantly make them a reputable research park," says Wright, president of the Association of University Research Parks. "They got caught up in the building and presence. The park has to be built on your strengths and then the facilities will follow. That's what NDSU is doing well."

NDSU has reinforced the park's foundation with two key characteristics:

• It has gained support from the university, the community and the state.
• It has determined its research strengths first, and fashioned physical structures accordingly.

The ability to provide research expertise in specific areas is a major reason why universities are ideal sites for research parks. "There's a growing recognition that universities are the primary source of new technology and inventions in the United States, and linking them to parks is critical to help transfer new technology into the marketplace," says Wright, who is also chief operating officer of the University of Arizona's massive Science and Technology Park in Tucson. He believes NDSU's nanotechnology focus is good, as it offers revolutionary research that not many other university research parks are doing. "I think it can bring prestige to a university," he says.

Research parks also can offer all the benefits their supporters claim: They foster revolutionary technology, form vital bridges between laboratory and marketplace and provide a major economic boon to the community.

In fact, the UARP is conducting the first comprehensive study to assess the economic impact of research parks. The parks not only cause a "multiplier effect" from employees' salaries, they also foster start-up companies, which bring additional money into the community.

The University of Arizona's park, for instance, is home to 30 high-tech companies and 6,000 employees. Its facilities include 2 million square feet of developed space on a 1,345-acre site. It pumps $2 billion annually into the local economy.

But Wright also preaches patience. The benefits don't happen overnight.

At its 10-year mark, the UA's park is considered one of the fastest-growing in the nation. On the other hand, the Stanford Industrial Park in the Silicon Valley and Research Triangle Park in North Carolina have taken 40 to 50 years to fully develop. "NDSU is going to have to understand it will take a number of years to make this work," Wright says.