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UNC-Chapel Hill and the Town of Chapel Hill have hired a national consulting firm to design a roadmap for catalyzing an innovation district within the downtown area. The downtown innovation district in Chapel Hill will be a place where the Carolina faculty and students, startup ventures, established companies, NGOs and citizens convene, connect and grow our economic impact.

The roadmap for creating an innovation district in Chapel Hill will be completed during the first quarter of 2022. This roadmap involves three phases.

Phase 1: Goals and Resources

During this first phase, the roadmap will define the reasons why the University and Town want to create an innovation district. It will also outline the assets and resources they bring to this effort — and how these resources align with the needs of established companies, startups, citizens and others. Throughout this phase, we will:

  1. Define goals and metrics. Desired short- and long-term outcomes.
  2. Identify existing resources. Assets and resources of the Town and University.
  3. Assess complementary initiatives. Themes, audiences and goals of related University, Town and partner initiatives.

Phase 2: Outreach and Visioning

The second phase of the roadmap will define what the Chapel Hill innovation district should be and include. This research will evaluate the customer needs of private industry, institutes and NGOs and determine how the assets of the University and Town can align to meet these needs. This phase will allow us to:

  1. Conduct user and stakeholder outreach to private industry/NGO’s; UNC departments; real estate firms; community leaders.
  2. Analyze the competitive landscape to understand market, strengths/weaknesses and positioning.
  3. Perform site and project analysis to identify potential sites and uses, anchor tenants, development constraints, project impact/risks.
  4. Develop a future vision of the downtown related to work, research, learning, events, and industry/academic collaboration.

Phase 3: Management Plan

The final phase of the roadmap is an opportunity for us to develop a management plan for how to bring the innovation district to life and achieve the goals connected to this initiative. The management plan will draw from insights gained from the phases 1 and 2, plus lessons learned by the consulting firm while working on other efforts to create innovation districts.

  1. Mission. Describe how to meet the overall need and measure effectiveness.
  2. Organization. Define legal status, governance, funding and control, core skills and staffing.
  3. Work plan. Outline timing, costs, project priorities, etc.
  4. Operating requirements. Detail organizational operating requirements, including legal costs, salaries and indirect costs, office/overhead costs, outsourced professional services, budgets, financing, etc.