How Raleigh-Durham is prioritizing innovation and entrepreneurship to build a strong tech workforce as companies like Apple and Google move to the region

The Raleigh-Durham area has long been known as a center for innovation thanks to the Research Triangle Park (RTP), founded in 1959 and considered the largest research center in the country.

Hundreds of companies, government agencies, and nonprofits call RTP home, including Cisco Systems, IBM, and Fidelity Investments. Some of the region's major universities, including Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University, also have a presence.

"I think we're being called the Research Triangle more than Raleigh-Durham," Veronica Creech, director of the Office of Economic Development and Innovation for the city of Raleigh, told Insider. In fact, the Research Triangle was ranked No. 8 among the world's top 20 science cities for 2021 by global real-estate services company Savills.

Being known for having a talented workforce will attract even more major companies, boosting economic development for the entire region, Creech said.

Raleigh's strategic plan includes measures for cultivating innovation and entrepreneurship, developing partnerships, and creating equitable employment opportunities. The city is examining ways to help the existing workforce gain the skills, education, and experience to compete and succeed in the local economy, Creech said.

Another part is keeping talented workers in the region, especially those attending a local university. "We actually have magnets, those institutions, drawing talent, and then we have an opportunity and a community that keeps that talent here," Creech said.

In Durham, the Office of Performance and Innovation works to promote innovation and economic opportunity for underserved communities, Ryan Smith, innovation and performance manager, told Insider.

"One of our key focus areas was really understanding the investments we could make to increase economic opportunity for residents who were justice-involved, who had some type of criminal record," he said.

The office asked residents what barriers to employment they were experiencing — a common problem was that many had suspended or revoked driver's licenses.

Using motor-vehicle and court data, Durham identified thousands of residents who had criminal records and lacked driver's licenses, mostly for traffic violations or other minor offenses. His office partnered with the local district attorney to get the offenses dismissed for 35,000 residents without anyone having to appear in court.

Raleigh and Durham often work with local organizations to promote innovation. One initiative is RIoT Your Reality, which is a partnership between the city of Raleigh, the town of Cary, Google Fiber, US Ignite, Facebook Reality Labs, and RIoT, a Raleigh-based nonprofit advancing innovation in the region.

RIoT Your Reality is a challenge that launched in April 2021, where teams are coming up with ways augmented reality can solve some of Raleigh's biggest challenges, Tom Snyder, executive director at RIoT, told Insider.

"The challenges are in diversity and inclusion. They are in workforce development, and the third is about maximizing and capitalizing on the convention center," Snyder said.

Several teams pitched their AR ideas, and six were selected and awarded $1,000 to build a prototype. The finalists will demonstrate their ideas in July, and a winner will receive $40,000 and a place in the RIoT Accelerator Program.

RIoT runs several programs to support entrepreneurs, including the RIoT Accelerator Program, a 12-week program that gives startup founders access to a variety of resources and mentors.

The companies that have participated in the accelerator since 2014 have generated more than 200 jobs and $100 million in revenue and earned millions in funding, Snyder said. About 60% of the businesses involved have been run by women, minorities, and veterans.

Durham, North Carolina-based NC IDEA also supports entrepreneurship and economic development through several initiatives. NC IDEA SOAR specifically supports women in entrepreneurship, while the four-week program NC IDEA LABS is open to entrepreneurs wanting to take their businesses to the next level.

In 2020, NC IDEA provided about $3 million in funding to entrepreneurs across North Carolina, and it plans to distribute $3.5 million more this year, Thom Ruhe, NC IDEA's president and CEO, told Insider.

Seed grants and micro-grants of $50,000 and $10,000 are awarded directly to entrepreneurs to help them develop their product or business. Ruhe said the grants don't have to be repaid and NC IDEA doesn't receive equity in the business.

NC IDEA also provides funding to other organizations that support entrepreneurs, including universities, two-year colleges, cities, and counties. The organization prioritizes this funding based on what's needed in specific parts of the state.

Since the organization was founded in 2015, NC IDEA has provided about $15 million to companies and partners in the state and supported nearly 500 companies, Ruhe said. Recently, NC IDEA created the North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council to support Black entrepreneurs.

"We feel that the greatest economic impact that comes from this activity is when you marry innovation with entrepreneurship," Ruhe said.