According to Bob Regnier, president of Blue Valley Bank and chairman of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, this is why the Johnson County Education Research Triangle is primarily an economic development project, not an academic research effort.

The Triangle is an expansive and visionary partnership between academic institutions and government that aims to produce better research, smarter students, and more jobs. The project would be funded by a one-eighth cent sales tax that will be on the ballot in November.

"I think this will be well-received by the voters because it’s primarily focused on economic development, which is tailor-made for this area," said Regnier.

If funded, the Triangle effort will be three-pronged: the University of Kansas will expand its Edwards Campus to include a 75,000- square-foot business, engineering, science, and technology center that will offer 10 new degrees and accommodate 1,000 new students; Kansas State University will expand to a new Innovation Campus National Food and Animal Health Institute in Olathe; and the KU Medical Center will open a clinical research center in Fairway.

Annabeth Surbaugh, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, said the chief economic task of the county is to provide the physical and social infrastructure for the cities – and the Triangle can be a key part of that infrastructure.

"We do the necessary things that help ready the county for economic development, and the Triangle is one of many key pieces for the future," she said. "A great part of our future is in the biosciences, and the initiative has the potential to give back in a huge way to Johnson County."

At KU Medical Center, the prospect of expanding its already renowned research expertise is a big selling point as well. KU boasts some of the nation’s top researchers and is a strong candidate to secure designation by the National Cancer Institute as a comprehensive cancer center.

The Triangle would allow us to invest in the latest clinical trials, which would translate into faster and better cures," said Roy Jensen, MD, KU Cancer Center director. "Pairing that facility with our drug development and discovery programs would mean that area residents will have access to the latest treatment options and thus the best possible care right here in Kansas City."

The three academic campuses would equally split the approximately $15 million per year generated by the sales tax. Alternative funding for education and research projects have become more commonplace as states suffer fiscal shortfalls and are forced to cut budgets. Just two decades ago almost half of the budgets for the University of Kansas and Kansas State University came from the state. Today, that figure is less than 30 percent.

It is this disparity, Regnier said, that proposals like the Triangle are designed to correct.

"The reality is that you can depend on the state for some funding, but it will be nominal and it won’t grow," he said. "By taking the economic development approach, we’re creating a great education and research environment."

Similar research projects have long been modeled on the success of Research Triangle Park (RTP), a landmark fusion of public and private interests in the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area of North Carolina. It’s difficult to overstate the economic impact of RTP, which today boasts more than 30,000 employees working for more than 160 companies.

Ken Atkins, executive director of Wake County Economic Development in North Carolina, said RTP has progressed from an initially risky development to the economic centerpiece of the metropolitan area.

"We’ve had tremendous growth, and we have a young and innovative workforce," Atkins said. "RTP defines who we are and what we are."

Perhaps what is most impressive about RTP – and what is no doubt most significant to Triangle advocates – is its effect on the regional economy.

When RTP was founded in 1959, North Carolina was searching for a way out of the fiscal doldrums. The state lagged far behind the rest of the nation in per-capita income, and its economy was stagnant. Today, North Carolina is a center of research and development and is one of the financial capitals of the South.

The impact of RTP demonstrates two lessons: a research incubation project must be given time to develop, and some spark must catalyze that project’s origins.

"The most important thing everyone forgets about developing a research triangle is that it takes time," Atkins said. "But once you get the core going, it spawns things around the outskirts. Now the park is the anchor tenant in the center of the area, and the universities provide the education and research."

In the view of the Triangle proponents, this ballot initiative presents voters with two very different choices for Johnson County’s economic future: continuing to exploit the existing economy for maximum gain and growth; or, by approving the initiative, reshaping that infrastructure as an epicenter of intellectual development and research for the region.

Difficult though it may be to convince citizens to vote for more taxes, advocates of the Triangle maintain that voters will see this as more than just another tax hike. They argue that it differs fundamentally from other tax increases which fund basic services.

"Local leaders have been saying that the 19th century was about bigger farms, the 20th century was about bigger factories, and the 21st century will be about bigger ideas," Regnier said. "People will look back on this and say it was a forward-thinking plan. Education is the new driver of economic development, and it’s the only long-term strategy that will work." +