North carolina
The Research Triangle Park (RTP) is the largest research park in the nation making it no wonder that North Carolina is a leader in high-tech business startups. But the RTP is not the only reason for North Carolina’s successes. The state and its educational and business partners have developed a cohesive strategy to create jobs and develop new and emerging enterprises by building on existing assets, resources and competitive advantages within the state.
The Research Triangle Park The Research Triangle Park was founded in January 1959 by a committee of government, university, and business leaders as a model for research, innovation, and economic development. By establishing a place where educators, researchers, and businesses come together as collaborative partners, the founders of the Park hoped to change the economic composition of the region and state, thereby increasing the opportunities for the citizens of North Carolina.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation The North Carolina Entrepreneurship Center at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro provides expertise in seven major areas where jobs are predicted to grow for the next 20 years: creative industries; family business; franchising; international health care and social entrepreneurship; and technology, innovation, and science entrepreneurship. The Center assists in finding the expertise, support, and services an entrepreneur needs. The Center provides fee-based services and free services through partnerships with the Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Small Business Development Technology Center (SBDTC) and affiliate programs. The Entrepreneurship Center teaches the skills of building enterprises that are sustainable and create value, including businesses as well as non-profit, charitable, cultural, and educational organizations. CED (formerly The Council for Entrepreneurial Development) was founded in 1984 to identify, enable and promote high-growth, high-impact companies and to accelerate the entrepreneurial culture of the Research Triangle and North Carolina. CED provides education, mentoring, and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops, and programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED has assisted entrepreneurs in most industries and at all stages of development including from high-tech, life sciences, and service companies ranging from one-person start-ups to 1,000-person businesses. With more than 5,500 active members representing over 1,100 companies, CED is the largest entrepreneurial support organization of its kind in the United States. Workforce Development and Training A program that combines both educational aspects and innovation components is North Carolina’s JobsNOW 60
The RTP vision was to provide a ready physical infrastructure that would attract research oriented companies. Today, more than 42,000 full-time equivalent employees work in RTP with an estimated 10,000 contract workers. These employees have combined annual salaries of over $2.7 billion.
initiative. This is a collaborative effort including state agencies, local governments, business leaders, and citizens working together to create new jobs, put people back to work, and train workers for new and emerging industries. JobsNOW includes several key projects: •
Green Energy Plan refocuses state energy policy making, makes strategic investments in North Carolina’s green economy and enhances green-collar workforce development;
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The “12 in 6” program is a workforce development initiative designed to benefit North Carolinians who have lost their jobs. The initiative will create community college programs in 12 careers, each requiring less than six months to complete;
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NC Recovery is a program designed to create jobs, address state budget stability, and rebuild and expand the state’s critical infrastructure, including highways and schools.