Rebuttal
A recent article from the National Post inferred that the lack of data showing the extent of government involvement in business incubators was due to a nefarious political agenda and financial mismanagement. The undertone from the author was that public tax payers are receiving a questionable rate of return on the investment in business incubation. The dire warning of the article was clear: lack of transparency and accountability breeds contempt from the public vantage point.
The article based its evidence, or lack thereof, from dated industry reports, interviews with senior executives and the Canadian Association of Business Incubators (CABI). The conclusion drawn was that neither CABI nor anyone else seems to have data showing the extent of government involvement in the innovation sector in Canada or that business incubation has been a prudent investment. Even though CABI actively encourages metric calculation, one executive mentioned in the article that taking stock of how well an incubator is performing remains a bit of a “fuzzy science”.
Business incubation works – the message needs to be repeated using a number of communication tools. Industry, government and the academic community recognize this mentoring activity in numerous reports and peer reviewed journals. Just because data isn’t readily accessible should not give an ounce of fodder to critics of the business incubation program that systematic problems exist. Success for business incubators includes: the number of current clients/tenants; total number of graduates since the program’s inception; number of people currently employed either full or part time. Whether the graduate stays in the immediate geographical area can also be a success marker to local business communities. The issue for incubators is to improve these channels to broadcast the value of its services with an objective program evaluation. The results need to be compiled, evaluated, and distributed in order to prevent the perception of questionable business practices.
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