South By North Strategies, Ltd.

A story in yesterday’s issue of The News & Record looked at the track record of the Piedmont Triad’s WIRED project, a three-year regional development effort funded by the federal government. The $15-million program provided the region with funds to align and tailor workforce and economic development systems around four growing local industries: advanced manufacturing; creative enterprises and the arts; health care; and logistics and distribution.

Because the federal grant is ending, the initiative, which is coordinated by the Piedmont Triad Regional Partnership, is undergoing a restructuring. With funds raised from the private sector, the partnership intends to maintain the logistics effort, sustain another effort concentrating on the home furnishings industry, and launch new efforts tied to nanotechnology and regenerative medicine.