Pittsburgh’s comeback from the late 1970s recession owes much to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), which spearheaded efforts to clean up the mammoth J&L steel mill and attract leading corporations to the city. But CMU also spent a lot of time helping entrepreneurs start new businesses and existing businesses organize themselves into clusters, reports ED Now (January 2, 2011, available in the Legislative Library).
CMU’s cluster strategy included a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh to launch the Digital and Life Sciences Greenhouses, initiatives that integrated their efforts to find commercial applications for university research (i.e., technology transfer), help faculty launch businesses, and provide funds and technical assistance for fledgling new businesses.
“The net effects of this collaboration,” according to ED Now, “has been accelerated rates of university-based business formation—CMU is ranked second in the nation by the Association of University Technology Managers in the rate of start-ups per federal research dollars invested—and increased business survival and growth rates.”
One element of CMU’s success is its Community Connection Committee, whose staff regularly meets with people and organizations involved in economic development. The committee goal is to share ideas, discuss resources, learn about each other’s work, and establish a framework for groups to collaborate on projects.
