PLACE Database
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The PLatform for Advancing Community Economies (PLACE) database is a firm-level database that tracks the genesis of the entrepreneurial ecosystems across the state of North Carolina. In 2010, Maryann Feldman (in partnership with Nichola Lowe through 2018), began building a database that provided a fifty-year perspective on technology-intensive entrepreneurial activity in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Region. This database provides a unique resource for studying the temporal dynamics of a regional economy by combining a firm-centric analytical framework with a consideration of the institutional richness of the regional support system. Our methodological approach is to study the development of regional entrepreneurial economies by providing a comprehensive analysis of the constituent organizations and institutions over time.
Originally, the PLACE database study region was defined as the spatial configuration of firms in the 13-county Research Triangle region surrounding the Research Triangle Park of North Carolina, where large multinational and multi-jurisdictional firms were recruited, starting in 1962. As a result of mergers, acquisitions and other start-up activity, thousands of technology-intensive entrepreneurial firms have populated the adjacent area over time.
We are currently expanding the PLACE database to cover all 100 counties of North Carolina. This data collection effort draws from over 30 distinct data sources (both public and proprietary), and yields details on company founders, annual firm employment, and engagement with the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The result is a unique data-driven platform that provides a resource that is useful to state and local policymakers, entrepreneurial support agencies, and local business media. This database is rigorously maintained and new data are being added continually.
Key data elements of the PLACE SQL database include, but are not limited to:
- Year of incorporation for startups
- Year of relocation for established firms formed outside the region
- Sector, subsector & technology
- Complete records of addresses
- Corporate affiliations, if applicable
- Annual Employment
- Annual Sales
- Annual Patent filings
- Participation in entrepreneurial support organizations and other business development programs and initiatives
- Key financial milestones, such as: venture capital infusion; federal small business assistance financing; State grants & awards
- Liquidity events, such as: IPO; acquisitions; mergers; bankruptcy
- Educational attainment and career history of founders (for startups)
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PLACE Replications
The PLACE database has been replicated in multiple locations, including Sophia Antipolis France, Boulder Colorado, Georgia, Chattanooga Tennessee, and Austin, Texas.
The PLACE: Georgia replication is being led by PI Paige Clayton, assistant professor of economic development at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Georgia replication focuses on understanding patterns of historical entrepreneurial development across and within Georgia’s economic regions, with a focus on Atlanta.
STUDENT ALUMNI
Laney Smith, Undergraduate, Public Policy and Geography (2013)
Zachary Smith, Undergraduate, Economics and Public Policy (2013)
Dana Royal, Undergraduate Mathematical Decision Sciences (2013)
Jonathan Stupak, Undergraduate, Public Policy and Political Science (2014)
Teddie Hadjimichael, Master’s Student, City and Regional Planning (2014)
Wil Heflin, Master’s Student, City and Regional Planning (2014)
Chester Wells, Master’s Student, Information and Library Science (2014)
Khadijah Diaz, Undergraduate, Public Policy (2014)
Jasmine Kreig, Undergraduate, Mathematics (2014)
Carolyn Fryberger, Master’s Student, City and Regional Planning (2014)
Lauren Lanahan, PhD Student, Public Policy (2015)
Zekun Yu, Master’s Student, Information Science (2015)
Daniel Fleck, Undergraduate, Public Policy (2015)
Patrick French, Undergraduate, Public Policy (2015)
Cara Wittkind, Master’s Student, City and Regional Planning (2015)
Rui Chen, Masters Student, City and Regional Planning (2016)
Jongmin Choi, Doctoral Student, Public Policy (2016)
Mary Donegan, Doctoral Student, City and Regional Planning (2016)
Enrique Lambrano, Undergraduate, Public Policy (2016)
Katherine Manweiler, Undergraduate, Business and Economics (2016)
Elizabeth Yamall, Masters Student, City and Regional Planning (2016)
Allison Forbes, Doctoral Student, City and Regional Planning, Project Manager (2017)
Grayson Berger, Undergraduate, Public Policy and Business Administration (2017)
Joon Lee, Undergraduate, Computer Science (2017)
Svetak Sundhar, Undergraduate, Computer Science (2017)
Simrann Wadhwa, Undergraduate, Public Policy (2017)
Charlotte Burnett, Master’s Student, Business Administration (2018)
Ryan Goodwin, Undergraduate, Business Administration (2018)
Alexander Leedom, Master’s Student, Business Administration (2018)
Nicholas Loukellis, Master’s Student, Business Administration (2018)
Connor Murphy, Undergraduate, Public Policy (2018)
Hidy Akila, Undergraduate, Business Administration (2019)
Amber Pace, Master’s Student, Business Administration (2019)
Gayathri Raghavendra, Undergraduate, Public Policy & Computer Science (2019)
Keagan Sacripanti, Master’s Student, City and Regional Planning (2019)
Siddharth Vashist, Master’s Student, Business Administration (2019)
Ryan Wallace, Undergraduate, Public Policy (2019)
Emily Nwakpuda, PhD Candidate, Public Policy (2019)
Paige Clayton, PhD Candidate, Public Policy (2019)
Tyler Ording, Undergraduate, Business Administration & Computer Science (2021)
Justin Schmitt, Undergraduate, Business Administration & Computer Science (2021)
Jenny Hill, PhD Student, Public Policy (2021)
PRESS
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/01/26/1806985/entrepreneurs-job-creation-tallied.html
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/business/ced-report-focuses-on-big-picture
PUBLICATIONS
Feldman, M.P. and N. Lowe. (2015). Triangulating Regional Economies: Realizing the Promise of Digital Data. Research Policy, 44 (9): 1785-1793
Lowe, N. and M.P. Feldman. (2014). Breaking the Waves: Innovation at the Intersections of Economic Development Policy. Working paper. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina.
Feldman, M.P. and T. D. Zoller (2012). Dealmakers in Place: Social Capital Connections in Regional Entrepreneurial Economies. Regional Studies. 46(1): 23-37.
Feldman, M.P. and N. Lowe. (2011). Restructuring for Resilience. Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, 6 (1): 129-146.
DATA DETAILS
- Unit of Analysis: Establishment
- Coverage: Universe of entrepreneurial starts-up and establishments in technology-intensive industries (e.g., life sciences, information and communication technology, gaming, cleantech and business services) in the 13-county North Carolina Research Triangle Park region from 1962 to the present; currently being expanded to capture all startups in North Carolina
- Size: More than 6,000 establishments
- Form: Database
- Key Data Elements:
- Year of incorporation for startups
- Year of relocation for established firms formed outside the region
- Sector, subsector & technology
- Complete address
- Corporate affiliations, if applicable
- Annual Employment
- Annual Sales
- Annual Patent filings
- Participation in business development programs and initiatives
- Key financial milestones, such as: Venture capital infusion; Federal small business assistance financing; State grants & awards
- Liquidity events, such as: IPO; Acquisitions; Mergers; Bankruptcy
- Educational attainment and career history of founders (for startups)
- Timeframe: Annual from 1962 to the present
- Frequency: Collected continuously & still under development
- Data Collection Method: Original data collection & synthesis
- Access: Currently available upon request
- Uses for Regional Analysis: The database allows for an in-depth understanding of the complexity of the process of regional economic change and the role of constituent organizations over time. The underlying data collection methodology and database structure may be replicated in other places.