NCC NBAF
North Carolina because...
- We are one of the nation's top agricultural and biotechnology states
- We have one of the nation's most highly educated and trained workforces
- We rank as one of the most attractive place to start and run a business
- We also rank as one of the best places for high technology support, research and development
- We have research-intensive, world class universities in human and veterinary medicine, public health, engineering, and other related fields
- We are a highly progressive state for biotechnology, public/animal health preparedness and well-established transportation, service, research and manufacturing infrastructure.
The heart of our science and technology corridor, central North Carolina's Piedmont region, follows from Charlotte, through the Triad (Greensboro/Winston Salem), to the Research Triangle Park (RTP, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). The RTP area is home to more than 136 biotechnology, pharmaceutical, R&D, and biomanufacturing companies and agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and USDA/APHIS Eastern Regional Offices. Similarly, research parks in the Triad and Charlotte area expand North Carolina's presence in private/public collaborations in biotechnology with dozens of state, national, and international biotechnology companies. We offer potential cooperation and collaborative links for the NBAF found in few places in the world.
The region boasts a high quality of life, spurred by a rich academic and business environment and the natural resources of NC's Piedmont and people. The area includes a diverse mix of retail, recreational, and entertainment opportunities. Lastly, the area offers housing from rural to urban, from executive properties and single-family homes, to townhouses and apartments.
Quality of life, education, and business climate
According to the September 2006 survey by Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the nation's top-ranked technology hub is North Carolina's Raleigh-Durham area. The SVLG award was based on the area's affordable housing, thriving job market, local students' performance on standardized tests, as well as comparatively low sales taxes and affordable utility bills. From January to October 2006 a few of the other awards that recognized North Carolina include:
Best place to live
(#5 Most Wired City - Forbes.com; #6 Best City for Singles (Raleigh-Durham) - Forbes; #4 Best Places to Live (Raleigh) - Money ; #5 Best Places to Live Among Small Cities (Cary) - Money )
Best place to start or operate a business
(#3 Best City (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) for Entrepreneurs - Entrepreneur; #3 Best State for Business - Forbes ; #2 Best Place for Business and Careers (Raleigh) - Forbes; #8 Best Place for Business and Careers (Durham) - Forbes; #1 State of the Year - Southern Business & Development)
Best place to study or work in life sciences
(#3 State in Biotechnology - Ernst & Young Global Biotechnology Report; #20 (NC State U), #25 (UNC Chapel Hill), #38 (Duke U) out of 135 top University Technology Transfer and Commercialization - Milken Institute; #1 (UNC Chapel Hill) #28 (NC State U) Best Values in Public Education - Kiplinger's)
Strength and breadth of scientific community
The state and its biotechnology corridor have garnered multiple awards and continuous recognition for its depth in science and engineering. This strength is generated by research universities and community college training programs. It is expanded by its extensive science and technology based private sector, and is supported by science/engineering friendly communities. This did not happen by accident - NC leaders initiated a clear and innovative statewide plan more than 50 years ago to develop, attract, and grow the infrastructure, critical mass, and institutions. This has been, and will continue to be, a priority for North Carolina.
North Carolina has attracted many vaccine, biomanufacturing, and health-related R&D companies. These corporate citizens provide a workforce and production capacity for biological and other health related products within central North Carolina from the Piedmont Triad Research Park and Wake Forest University Health Sciences campus to the Research Triangle.
Medical/veterinary/agricultural research and development capacity
The area boasts of many highly regarded academic research institutions. U.S. News and World Report in its Top Medical Schools of 2006 list includes Consortium institutions: Duke University (#6-Research and Primary Care), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (#2-Primary Care, #23-Research), and Wake Forest University Health Sciences (#30-Primary Care, #41-Research). In the most recent US News and World Report evaluation of veterinary colleges, North Carolina State University ranked fifth.
The Piedmont area has nurtured and facilitated the development of numerous not-for-profit biological and technological R&D entities and associations. Additionally, the area has been the choice for headquartering large federal agencies and their research components. It also has the advantage of proximity to NC's uniquely integrated public safety, public health, and animal health state agencies and their associated resources.
Existing expertise in biocontainment facility design, construction, and operation (university and private sector)
Few areas in the country support the concentration of biosecure R&D laboratories found in North Carolina's research corridor. This resource exists because North Carolina supports the businesses and agencies that assist in planning and design, in construction and contracting, and in the proper operation and maintenance of such facilities. The Research Triangle Park, alone, has several BSL 3 research, diagnostic, and production facilities in operation with more being planned and constructed.
Workforce capacity
Central North Carolina contains some of the top scientific/research communities in the U.S. for pharmaceuticals, biological agents/infectious disease, human health and medicine, and agriculture. For example, Triangle communities have been named #3 in PhD's per capita in the 2000 census, #3 for the Proportion of Population over 25 with a Bachelor's Degree or higher in the 2004 U.S. Census Bureau's "American Community Survey", and as the # 5 Best Knowledge Worker Area by Expansion Management magazine, May 2005. A major reason for this concentration is the state's continual investment in higher education, and facilitation of workforce science and technology training programs.
North Carolina is home to dozens of architecture and engineering companies with expertise in laboratory space planning and as contractor companies with experience in building specialty facilities. In 2003, a study on biotechnology expansion. (Research Triangle Regional Partnership. A Blueprint for Life Sciences Private Sector - Growth In the Research Triangle Region) projected a three-year track of $800 million in biotechnology construction projects employing more than 15,000 carpenters, electricians, plumbers and others. Additionally, as indicated above, the area has construction companies and design firms that have built several biosecure facilities, including BSL3 facilities.
For more information on the advantages of living and working in North Carolina, please visit
Information Sources on Quality of Life and Economics
NC Government Home
The North Carolina Department of Commerce
The Research Triangle Park
Regional Level Economic Development Information Sources
The Charlotte Regional Partnership
The Piedmont-Triad Partnership
The Research Triangle Regional Partnership
Industry Level Information Sources
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Focus On Careers: North Carolina - Opportunity and Community
[Download PDF]