As seen in the November 18, 2005, edition.

AngelouEconomics Predicts Design Incubator To Attain Full Occupancy Within 18 Months of Launch

WINSTON-SALEM – A new study by AngelouEconomics reports a "strong local demand for design incubator space," and predicts that such an incubator "can reasonably expect to attain full occupancy within 18 months of launch."

That is music to the ears of Jim DeCristo, director of economic development and external affairs at the North Carolina School of the Arts. DeCristo was hired this past spring to help shepherd the Center for Design Innovation – as well as other economic development initiatives – from concept to reality.

"The AngelouEconomics study reinforces what we believed all along: that the creation of the CDI is a worthwhile endeavor, and it will be a success," DeCristo said. "Our goal is to make the Piedmont Triad region a recognized center of design across the country."

The design incubator would be part of the Center for Design Innovation, a University of North Carolina inter-institutional collaboration between NCSA and Winston-Salem State University, in partnership with Forsyth Technical Community College. The CDI was created in response to a 2003 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, also developed by AngelouEconomics, that recommended that the region pursue a course to accelerate the growth of the emerging design cluster in the Piedmont Triad.

The goals of the CDI – which will specialize in the application of digital design in entertainment, life science, education, product design, and product marketing – are to discover, develop and commercialize innovative technologies; create new high-paying "knowledge economy" jobs; and to provide a skilled workforce to support the growth of the design cluster.

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has approved $2 million to establish the CDI, while the state has appropriated another $10 million for the construction of a facility at Piedmont Triad Research Park in Winston-Salem.

Randy Mills, assistant provost for administration and planning at Winston-Salem State University, also was buoyed by the new study. "The CDI’s design incubator will harness the startups and spin-offs from faculty and student work and research, assist in their development, and nurture them as they expand," he said. "We also encourage designers in the private sector with innovative ideas that can support a business to participate in the incubator."

The new AngelouEconomics study, contracted by the Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments, examined the local market for interest in a design incubator and cited "the creation of over 35 design companies annually in the Triad." The study said that while Triad employment fell by 4 percent overall from 1999 to 2004, design employment grew 30 percent during the same period.

"Our analysis shows that the design industry is expanding rapidly, both in the U.S. and the Triad region," the study states. "Design-intensive industries such as software, film and publishing are now the largest U.S. exports, surpassing manufactured products, and design jobs pay high wages."

Herb Burns, department chair of architectural/construction technology at Forsyth Technical Community College, was optimistic about the CDI’s impact on the local economy and the role Forsyth Tech has in this innovative collaboration. "The purpose of the CDI is to strengthen the Triad economy and create jobs," he said. "With the support of its design incubator, the CDI will make it possible for new innovative design companies in the Triad to be more competitive."

For more information about the Center for Design Innovation, or to read the entire AngelouEconomics report, visit www.ncarts.edu/CDI.