Seeking critical mass: Piedmont Triad leaders believe the region needs the cooperation of all its cities and counties to reach its full economic potential.

• Position: TRIAD REGION ROUND TABLE - Interview

Cities and counties in the Piedmont Triad must work together to leverage the regions assets if it's to compete with the Research Triangle and Charlotte as well as metro regions outside North Carolina. That is the opinion of a panel assembled by BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA for a round-table discussion sponsored by the nonprofit Piedmont Triad Regional Partnership. Participating were Don Kirkman, president and CEO of the partnership; Rosemary Wander, UNC Greensboro's associate provost for research and public/private partnerships; Austin Pittman, president of UnitedHealthcare of the Carolinas; Chuck Greene, regional director for the Piedmont Triad Region, AT&T North Carolina; and Kevin Baker, assistant director of Piedmont Triad International Airport. The discussion, moderated by Arthur O. Murray, BNC managing editor for special projects, was held at the partnership's office in Greensboro.

Where is the Triad economy headed?

Kirkman: Some of the sectors that continue to do very well are traditional clusters in manufacturing, transportation, distribution and logistics, but we are also seeing significant growth in emerging technologies and research and development.

Wander: Growth is going to come from the health/ biotech/nanotech arena. What's happening in our companies and in the way our universities are tying into that will mean that we will build this from basic research into applications that are unique. Our work in transportation and logistics, with the five interstates and support from the universities, also will help us grow. Another place where we have real strength is in creativity. Just on our campus, we have 250 faculty associated with the arts and almost 1,500 students, and that's just one of the region's 11 four-year universities.

Greene: The region's biggest asset is the resource we have with our community colleges and our private and public four-year institutions. The critical mass behind the research going on is going to fuel the next generation of our economy.

Pittman: We're facing the same kind of national issues that everybody is. Biotech is a big piece. We've got a real leg up with Wake Forest University. The investments we're making in all of our universities are really going to drive this economy forward.

How does the creative sector drive the economy?

Wander: Creative people look at new approaches. Then, on top of it, you put this work that we have going on in Winston-Salem and Greensboro around design, pulling from the folks at the university/community-college level as well as those who are actually doing it. If we unite these talents, we brand ourselves. Another way you can spin this out is that this is a place to come to. We have cultural tourism, art tourism. You put enough activity around it, and then things begin to flock to it.

Kirkman: The premise is that we are transitioning from an economy that has been based largely on manual labor and relatively low-skill commodity manufacturing to an economy where the power of knowledge and creative thinking will drive activity. We're trying to nurture skills in problem solving and critical thinking that employers of every kind are going to require. Those skills can help drive a regional economy.

Wander: We had a Nobel laureate on campus yesterday. He took his understanding of art and his understanding of science and melded the two. When we've put our scientists and our artists together in the same room, there's an exchange that's really pretty exciting. It's a way of thinking.

Kirkman: A lot of innovation is occurring...