University research parks: What is their real effect on university research outputs?

University Research Parks (URPSs) are technology-based geographical enclaves placed in the surroundings of a university campus that benefit from the knowledge generated in the university and its affiliated research centres. Because of the close proximity between knowledge providers and knowledge users, URPs are expected to exponentially multiply R&D activities and strengthen the ties between academia and industry so that they mutually reinforce each other activities. The existing literature on the advantages firms get for being located in a URP is rich. Nevertheless, from the standpoint of universities, there is little empirical evidence on how URPs impact on research activities at universities. Aiming at bridge this gap, in this paper we survey the Catalan case, and investigate whether there are statistical significant differences in the research outputs when the university has an affiliated URP. We also examine the level of research activity taking into account the creation strategy of the URP. The study is divided in two main stages. First, we conduct a comprehensive review of the history, mission and vision of a selected number of universities. From this analysis it is possible to determine when the URP was created, the role played by the university in this process, and the creation strategy of the park. Main performance indicators are also collected. In a second stage, we graphically test our hypotheses. The database comprises information for the period 2004-2013. Research outputs under analysis include: publications, patents, spin-offs, and R&D contracts.