Research Triangle Area to Seek 100,000 Jobs

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.
A regional task force has launched a five-year, $5 million strategy that it says could generate 100,000 new jobs and increase employment in a 13-county region surrounding the Research Triangle area in North Carolina. The area, which draws largely upon the resources and talent of top research universities as well as a few historically Black institutions, is home to many high technology firms, pharmaceutical companies and research organizations.
The initiative, called "Staying on Top: Winning the Job Wars of the Future," involves dozens of organizations, from area chambers of commerce to local universities, collectively called "institutional partners."
"In the 1950s, a group of innovative leaders conceived the idea of the Research Triangle Park (RTP), an idea that changed the economic course of the region," said former Gov. James Hunt, who chaired the 37-member CEO-level task force that developed the action plan.
"Today, we face intense global competition for new jobs and investment. There will be regions of the world that win … and regions that lose. We intend to win. We believe we can improve our chance for economic success through collaboration, education, innovation and action," Hunt added.
The "Staying on Top" plan was spurred by the findings of a 2001 study by Harvard University economist Dr. Michael Porter, who conducted an analysis of the Research Triangle region. In his report, "Clusters of Innovation," Porter concluded that the region required a "21st-century economic vision" to remain competitive.
"This plan recognizes the key role that our research universities play in economic development," said University of North Carolina President Molly Broad, who serves on the executive committee of the national Council on Competitiveness, which commissioned the Porter study.