AREA Science Park is Italy's main multi-sector science and technology park. Covering 55 hectares, the park is located on the Carso overlooking Trieste.

The park presently hosts more than 75 national and international organizations that utilize 60,000 square meters of well-equipped laboratories and offices and employ about 1,600 people. R&D structures and facilities currently under construction will make available an additional 4,000 square meters of space by 2005.

AREA Science Park hosts three types of establishments:

÷ National and international research centres of excellence, including the synchrotron light laboratory ELETTRA, the International Centre for Science and High Technology (ICS), and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB).

÷ Research and development (R&D) laboratories and service centres for business leaders involved in science and technology enterprises.

÷ Small- and medium-sized enterprises involved in state-of-the-art R&D initiatives: for example, cutting-edge knowledge-based enterprises and research-based spin-off companies.

AREA Science Park's emphasis on science- and technology-based innovation is applied to a wide range of fields that include the life sciences, biomedical technologies, environment, physics and new materials, electronics, informatics, multimedia systems and telecommunications.

The park's valuable services, its close relations with leading Italian universities and scientific institutions, and its expansive network of international contacts make AREA Science Park the ideal location for companies dedicated to innovation.

Consorzio per l'AREA di Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica (Area Science Park Consortium) is the national research institution that manages AREA Science Park.

The consortium's board of directors consists of the regional government of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the province and municipality of Trieste, the regional universities of Trieste and Udine, and the National Research Council, as well as several scientific and economic institutions.

The consortium oversees the planning of the park site and supervises the construction of buildings, the purchase of equipment, and the provision of services.

The consortium also offers park tenants broad-ranging expert advice on, for example, finance, marketing, telecommunications, and workplace health and safety issues - as part of a comprehensive strategy to improve the environment for scientific and technological innovation in Trieste and the surrounding region. The consortium's ultimate goal is to put science and technology to work for economic development.

The consortium provides information, facilities and guidance for the:

÷ Establishment of laboratories and R&D centres.

÷ Enhancement of contract and cooperative research.

÷Promotion of research clusters within the park to foster the sharing of resources and the strengthening of technologies of common interest.

÷ Creation of economic and industrial spin-offs through the forging of scientific and industrial partnerships.

÷ Nurturing entrepreneurship in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region via technology transfer and the dissemination of information and data on successful examples of innovation.

÷ Improved management of national and international R&D programmes.

÷Promotion of strategies for spatial development and technology-based economic growth through transnational networking projects.

The consortium has been obtained quality certification in accordance with European Union standards (UNI-EN-ISO 9001 / 2000) for the overall management of the park and the supplying of added-value services to its customers.