The Israeli technological incubator program: A decade later (183)

Theme Track: Innovation and New Technologies - Innovation Governance and Programs

Authors:
Shefer, Daniel ; Frenkel, Amnon

In the awake of the large influx of immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the early 1990's, the government of Israel initiated the innovative 'Technological Incubator Program'. Twenty-six such incubators were established throughout the country. Twenty-four incubators were still in operation by 2001. Nevertheless, a decade after the establishment of this program, it is most appropriate to evaluate its success . This paper analyzes the views of 21 managers on the mode of operation of the incubators, their tendency to specialize in very narrow industrial branches, the project-selection procedures and their effectiveness, as well as the rate of success, sources of financial support, location preferences, and more. The initiators of more than 100 projects supported within these incubators were thoroughly interviewed in order to determine their level of satisfaction with the incubator program. Also analyzed were the initiators' profile - sex, age, level of education, former employment background, industrial branch, etc. The ability of the incubators to foster technological enterpreneurship was assessed, and the level of the incubator managers' satisfaction with the program, as well as that of the project initiators with the incubator and the program evaluated. In particular, barriers to the efficient operation of the incubator and the projects supported by them were delineated. Finally an attempt was made to reconcile the differences in the levels of satisfaction displayed by the incubator managers and the project initiators with the replies obtained from the multitude of questions in the personal interviews.

[Home]    [Sitemap]