The purpose of the Council is to foster strategic investments and policies in the growing knowledge and innovation economy. Perdue announced the creation of the Council after touring a lab in the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem.

"To continue growing jobs in North Carolina we must make sure this state is poised to compete globally in the 21st century," said Perdue. "Innovation is North Carolina’s launch pad to success in the global economy, and it’s a primary way for us to maintain and sharpen our competitive edge."

Executive Order No. 29 establishes the North Carolina Innovation Council and empowers it to advise the Governor on:

• coordinating public and private investments and policies to promote innovation;
• moving innovative ideas from the lab to the marketplace more efficiently; and
• strengthening collaboration among business, academia, state and local government.

The Council’s membership will draw on a broad spectrum of expertise in entrepreneurship, science, academia and government. It will be co-chaired by Steve Nelson of the Wakefield Group (a CED member company) and Al Delia, senior advisor to the Governor for Policy and Governmental Affairs.

The North Carolina Innovation Council is part of Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative. Through JobsNOW, the state will work aggressively to create jobs, train and retrain our workforce, and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.