California Tool Works: Assessing the Impact of Life Science Incubators and Accelerators

Abstract

With the proliferation of types and business models in incubation and acceleration, a landscape survey commenced nearly a decade ago with innovation professionals running accelerators, incubators, corporate innovation teams, venture studios, and maker spaces. The benchmarking continues under the auspices of the California Business Incubation Alliance. For this paper, a selected set of findings specific to biotechnology have been detailed, including best practices, success measures, outcomes, and economic impact. The perspective of entrepreneurs, innovation executives, investors, and the public sector have been taken into account throughout this exercise.