First polish incubators of innovation and enterprise arised in 1990/1991. That were local initiatives supported by academies, scientific instituties, cities and provines. The concept of calling into being a society, as a platform to data collection and exchange, was maturing gradually. On the third annual conference ‘The role of center of innovation and enterprises In regional development and promotion of small and medium companies’ in 24th October 1992 32 incubators’ representatives called into being the Polish Business and Innovation Centers Association in Poland.

The Association is in permanent working contact with over 800 innovation and entrepreneurship centers, including the strong majority of parks and technology incubators, technology transfer centers, business incubators, loan funds, training and consultancy centers. The content-related work is executed in sections:

• Technology Transfer Centers;
• Parks and Technology Incubators;
• Entrepreneurship and Labour Market Institutions based;
• Academic Business Incubators;
• European Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute.

PBICA is a non-governmental institution having a strong expertise background actively participating in social consultations in the field of preparation of strategic and programming documents at regional, national and European Union level in the scope of innovation, entrepreneurship and regional development.

The activity of PBICA reaches far behind the borders of our country. The Association and its members participate in the works of International Group of Science Parks and Innovation Center Experts (SPICE), Work Group Innovation Centers in Central and Eastern Europe (ICECE WG), German Association of Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship Centers (ADT), National Business Incubation Association in the USA (NBIA), European Business & Innovation Center Network (EBN), International Council for Small Business (ICSB), Central Asian Business Incubators Network (CABIN), European Network Gate2Growth, International Association of Science Parks (IASP), Global Network of Business Incubators (GNBI), United Kingdom Business Incubation Association (UKBI), Ukrainian Business Incubators & Innovation Centers Association (UBICA), National Business Incubation Association in Russia (NBIA), Kazakhstan Association of Business Incubators and Innovation (KABIC), Belarus Association of Business Incubators, Science Parks and Innovation Centers (BISBI), Business Incubators and Innovation Centers Association of the Kyrgyz Republic, Association of Business Incubators and Technoparks of Uzbekistan (ABIT).

The activity and contribution of the Association in the development of entrepreneurship supporting system and innovation processes in Poland includes:

• Preparation of projects relating to business incubation and innovation for Organization of United Nations, World Bank, European Union, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy etc.;
• Cooperation with governmental agencies and institutions engaged in supporting small and medium enterprises, innovation and entrepreneurship; preparation of programmes for supporting small and medium enterprises, business incubation and technology transfer;
• Organization of conferences, meetings and trainings for organizers of innovation and entrepreneurship centers, including Annual Conferences of organizers of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centers for 20 years, in which jointly over 3 500 participants from the country and from abroad took part;
• Assistance and consultancy for new local initiatives in the form of consultations, preparation of feasibility studies, business plans, programmes and operational strategies;
• Facilitating contacts in finding foreign partners for the centers in Poland, among others with assistance of Poznań based secretary of International Group of Science Park and Innovation Center Experts SPICE and Innovation Centers in Central and Eastern Europe Network ICECE;
• Preparation of manuals and elaborations in the field of innovation and business incubation, organization of technology parks and incubators, technology transfer centers in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe;
• Monitoring of the development of Polish innovation and business centers (PBICA– Reports), providing information and popularization of achievements in political and self-governmental circles in the country and abroad;
• Propagating Polish initiatives abroad through international organizations of innovation centers, business incubators and science parks;
• Organization of annual Summer Innovation School aiming at the construction of effective partnership network for innovation growth of Polish economy, linking academic environment, governmental and self-governmental administration and the representatives of supporting institutions.