UNC begets some of the nation’s smartest and most successful graduates, and yet this affluence of talent has hardly manifested itself in Chapel Hill. With the cancellation of the Innovation Lab planned for Carolina North, it appeared as though an effort perfectly timed with the University’s Innovate@Carolina initiative had met its demise.
Fortunately for the town’s 2020 plan and students alike, the creation of the “505 Incubator,” an innovation lab slated for construction in January, has assured that the continued struggles of Carolina North have not come at the cost of future prosperity.
The innovation lab’s purpose is to provide recent graduates and local entrepreneurs with room to cook up ideas and iron out business models. It will incubate both companies and internships, which will allow for quality exposure to a real-world work setting and pair nicely with the innovation pursued on campus.
While the lab’s services will be a major boon to start-ups, they will require reliable injections of money as new needs arise, and in the current economy it’s difficult to guarantee that. To ensure a solid funding structure, the county should strongly consider working to create a stipend for lab projects from the quarter-cent sales tax revenues approved last month to spur economic development.
Appropriating money specifically for the lab’s needs would not only ensure its smooth operation, but, more broadly, complement Chapel Hill’s comprehensive plan. The fact is, the town needs fresh business, and the innovation lab will provide that business given the proper investments. What is done now will be paid back many times over once the lab has been given time to grow. Allowing for a strong start to the lab will bolster its success.
Carolina Launch Pad, which currently provides similar services for pre-commercial information technology start-ups, will be integrated directly into the lab when it’s completed in April. This, paired with several companies already being lined up to help and work with the lab, will provide the lab with valuable starting momentum.
With so much promise, every action possible should be taken to ensure the lab’s smooth development. It’s not often that such a well-planned and promising idea comes to fruition, and its direct improvement of the town and campus should further serve as incentive to get the ball rolling on a steady path.
