RESEARCH PARKS GENERATE $444 MILLION FOR PROVINCIAL ECONOMY

The tenants of Innovation Place, one of Saskatchewan's two research parks, contributed $187 million to the economy of Saskatoon and $251 million to the provincial economy in 2003, an increase of over 29 per cent from last year's figures, according to an independent study by Insightrix, a Saskatoon based consultant.

Together, Innovation Place and the Regina Research Park had an impact of $444 million on the economy of Saskatchewan in 2003 alone. That translates into over 1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of the province.

"Innovation Place is showing remarkable growth in terms of the research parks' impact on the economy of Saskatchewan," Minister Responsible for SOCO Eric Cline said. "In Regina, the Research Park had an impact of $153 million on the city and $193 million on the province. This strength will benefit the entire province, through both job creation and local expenditure on goods and services."

Researchers from Insightrix used information such as the purchase of local goods and services and staff salaries to determine the economic impact of the parks' activities, based upon a model developed at the University of Saskatchewan.

"We are very proud of the performance at both Innovation Place and the Regina Research Park this year," President and Chief Executive Officer of the corporation Doug Tastad said. "The Economic Impact Study shows that 100 per cent of Regina Research Park CEOs and 99 per cent of Innovation Place CEOs that responded would recommend the research parks to potential clients. In addition, over 60 per cent of tenants at both parks said they plan to expand in the near future. These figures show tremendous confidence in the future of Saskatchewan's technology based economy."

Innovation Place has developed knowledge clusters in fields such as agriculture, information technologies, resources and the life sciences. The park provides specialized infrastructure, including state-of-the-art facilities supported by technical and business services, to help move important discoveries from the lab into the marketplace.

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For More Information, Contact:

Austin Beggs Innovation Place Saskatoon Phone: (306)933-7464 Email: austin@innovationplace.com