Creative Economy

Technology
Talent
Tolerance

The university is indeed a key institution of the Creative Economy, but what’s not so widely understood is the multifaceted role that it plays. It doesn’t simply crank out research projects that can be spun off into companies. To be an effective contributor to regional growth, the university must play three interrelated roles that reflect the 3T’s of creative communities.

— Technology: Universities are centers for cutting-edge research in fields from software to biotechnology and important sources of new technologies and spin-off companies.
— Talent: Universities are amazingly effective talent magnets. By attracting eminent researchers and scientists, universities in turn attract graduate students, generate spin-off companies, and encourage other companies to locate nearby in a cycle of selfreinforcing growth.
— Tolerance: Universities foster a progressive, open, and tolerant people climate that helps attract and retain members of the Creative Class. College towns from Austin to Iowa City have always been places where gays and other outsiders in those parts of the country could find a home.

In doing these things, universities help to establish the broader quality of place of the communities in which they are located.