FACULTY AND RESEARCH

In the last decade, technology parks and incubators havebeen multiplied as a tool for promoting local economic develo-pment. However, little has been discussed about the evaluationof these initiatives. As a contribution to this debate, this paperoutlines a methodology for maturity assessment in innovationhabitats based on the triple helix model (academic, businessand government interactions). Based on existing maturity mo-dels, we offer a proposed method to evaluate park projectsbased on eleven criteria as identified in the literature. In orderto illustrate the application of such method we analyzed theexperiences of Sophia Antipolis, in southern France, and Petró-polis Technopolis in Rio de Janeiro. We conclude that while thisapproach is still incipient due to lack of consensus on criteria tobe used or the most appropriate weight for each measure, it isan improvement on a purely qualitative analysis of maturity intechnology park projects. It can facilitate comparison of experi-ences, identification of weaknesses and prioritization of strate-gies for strengthening local systems of innovation by the colla-borative work of the triad of actors involved. We suggest themethod should be applied in a larger scale involving a greaternumber of actors from the academic, business and governmentspheres