Stanford was a facility for multi-national research centres, whilst the small spin-off firms began in cheaper premises such as garages and starter units elsewhere. In many US research parks, there may be some manufacturing activity also, and this in part accounts for their large scale. Some of the early European experiments in science parks followed a similar model, notably Cambridge and Sophia Antipolis, although with some minor changes. The initial Cambridge Science Park was a smaller development and with a stronger focus on local start-up firms, and did not include manufacturing firms.