Incubation Programs from Public Research Organizations as Catalysts for Open Business Ecosystems

In many economies, new knowledge and technology creation and transfer towards local entities and new startups have been recognized as catalysts for industry renewal and tools for safeguarding (or even enhancing) a region’s employment and prosperity. This article presents a case study of iMinds, a network organization in Flanders, Belgium. The organization fosters interdisciplinary research in information and communication technologies (ICT) and strongly engages in transferring these new technologies towards local actors and in creating and supporting new startups. iMinds’ incubation and entrepreneurship programs act as catalysts for open innovation and company startup activities in the Flemish region.