In 1998 the North Carolina Emerging Technology Alliance was formed by academic, business and civic leaders that support the process of innovation, commercialization and technology transfer for diversified economic growth and employment expansion. A collaborative effort between academia, business and government will provide an environment that is needed to sustain, develop and promote a technology led economy through the ongoing expansion of the Piedmont Triad Research Park.
Established in 1994, The Piedmont Triad Research Park is one of the newest research parks in North Carolina. This master planned, urban-designed park is linked to university research, financial networks, and government to form a critical mass of intellectual capital for technology development in the new economy. PTRP is premised on a strategy that promotes access to people, programs and facilities capable of leveraging the areas of established research in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, medical devices, imaging and information systems. The Park continues to expand beyond its two existing buildings with the new construction of Technology Way, a 88,000 square foot facility along with the development of design schematics for a central courtyard plaza. The mission of the park is to develop and maintain a world-class research environment, which attracts a significant concentration of research and technology-related interests to downtown Winston-Salem, through the interaction between research resources of area educational institutions and businesses.
The PTRP currently houses eighteen companies and 251 employees comprised primarily of small start ups in the PTCRC building and Albert Hall., The Park's main role is to go beyond real estate and formulate economic innovation. In doing so, the Park will provide these and prospective tenants with access to technology/clusters, human resources, financing, state of the art physical infrastructure, information and an elevated quality of life.