96This first part of the chapter uses primary and secondary data as an empirical basis and point of departure for a better understanding of the work being done in practice. It draws material from a prior survey of 222 startups in Umeå (Hjalmarsson, 2017) in which one in four respondents reported receiving some kind of public support. About one-tenth of all startups emerged from university research of some kind. An understanding of incubator support was sought in three different ways: First, the CEOs of the innovation office and the three incubators were interviewed in the spring of 2019, focusing on how they view the process of starting new academicbased companies and how they perceive the rationale behind the support they offer. Second, the understanding here results from a decade of participatory observation as a member of the board of Umeå University’s Holding Company, which is responsible for the innovation office and also the majority owner of the three incubators.
97Building Local Innovation Support Systems: Theory and Practice
Umeå University Holding Company Owner-Management and Investing