Cost evaluation of different settlement opportunities within the HiCo region must be carried out from a perspective of benefits obtained and response to specific needs, instead of mere consideration of pure costs. The HiCo Region, is characterized by multiple settlement areas with high value added, both for enterprises intending to invest in innovation and to use technology transfer processes, and for research centres and laboratories. If location in a production cluster offers logistic and image advantages, location in a science and technology park or incubator also guarantees extremely competitive conditions, considering the cost of office rents and the excellent quality of the centres.

On the basis of each investor’s needs, a range of proposals for settlement in the HiCo Region is identified and presented together with the related costs.

Companies settled in a Science and Technology Park can benefit from an environment oriented towards research and innovation and use synergies and opportunities activated thanks to the presence of a “park system”. The most attractive factors for settlement are: prestige and visibility; tangible infrastructures, cutting-edge tools and structures supporting technology transfer, advanced education and researcher’s mobility; operative synergies with research centres settled and preferential connections with public and private universities and institutions supporting innovation; targeted financial incentives.

The possibility of settling within a science and technology park entails a preventive evaluation of the firm characteristics from a scientific, technical and technological viewpoint and a selection of entrepreneurial initiatives on the basis of possible applications and economic and industrial consequences deriving from the activities of the firm (preferably gravitating in the high-tech environment). It also implies an evaluation of the expected impact on the territory.

Settlement in enterprise incubators facilitates the start-up phase of entrepreneurial initiatives in an extremely short period of time, with minimum investments and minimum fixed-cost incidence. The main advantages are related to competitive rental costs and to excellently equipped areas, as well as to the possibility to obtain contributions for purchasing machinery. A decisive factor is the presence within incubators of professionals able to develop the enterprise network of relations. This amplifies market opportunities and allows for access to advanced technology and new strategic partners.
Summing up, incubators allow newly-established enterprises to gain competences that are necessary to reach success and to transmit an image of professionalism to customers and suppliers.

With reference to industrial zones, besides renting premises, it is possible to consider the option of purchasing urbanised lots for production settlements and take advantage of the services promoted and offered to settled enterprises by the industrial consortia managing the areas.

The following table shows the average costs of location infrastructures in the HiCo Region.

 

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 The following table shows the average salaries in the HiCo Region: