Timothy Franklin, COO416 The 329 Building

Pennsylvania State University State College, PA 16802

O: 814-863-9789tvf2@psu.edu

A uniquely American answer to regional innovation activities going on around the world

Building National CompetitivenessThrough Regional Development

TRE Networks is designing and building

a national delivery system that drives the

21st century American innovation economy.

Enlisting our country’s best minds in

government, education, private, and non-

profit sectors, TRE Networks’ goal is the

realization of prosperous regions across

the United States that possess innovative

businesses, creative hot spots, and

dynamic clusters.

TRE Networks has two program areas: TRE Roundtable and TRE Practice.

TRE Roundtable incorporates partner institutions that provide thought leadership in TRE:

Starting in 2008, TRE Roundtable has provided a forum for dialogue and thought leadership among the leaders in TRE today through annual meetings and policy forums.

TRE Practice offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to regions engaged in innovation-based economic development.  Through customized workshops, tools, and services, TRE Practice connects the enormous knowledge and innovation assets inside universities to regions across the country.  Effort is focused on creating dense interactions to build out the essential dimensions of the regional economic system:  Brainpower Talent, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Quality Connected Places.  Rather than stopping at single solutions for specific regions, TRE Practice organizes best-in-class regional development solutions that can be customized for any region. TRE Networks partners with anchor institutions (universities and colleges) who work directly within the region to guide competiveness strategies.  The broad national partnerships and products and services portfolio of TRE Practice fills gaps in local assets.

Current TRE Board

Founding TRE Core Providers

Partners

Leveraging University Assetsfor Regional Transformation

TRE Networks is a national network

organization that draws from universities

and other providers to systematically

provide strategies, tools, and services

across regions to drive economic

prosperity. TRE Networks is a non-profit

501(c)3 founded in September 2010 with

a board including Pennsylvania State

University, Purdue University, University of

Akron, Manufacturing Institute and RUPRI.

Delivering solutions as one-to-many, and many-to-one, the TRE Networks system is:

national. To be competitive, the 21st century American economy is dependent on regions strengthening and growing vibrant clusters. Good practices should be aggressively shared across regions to yield national competitivenessaccelerated. All regions have capacity to transform. Accelerating the transformation is accomplished through processes that rapidly and powerfully build civic collaboration and narratives & networks. synergistic. Regions on a journey need fuel – lots of it. New ideas, strategic assistance, and programs to fill gaps in regional capacity provide the means to get there. Universities are a significant source for these capabilities.customized. Regions come in lots of different flavors, and can be characterized by their urban or rural character, their particular personality, or their economic focus. Any solutions being pulled into the region from outside need to be customized.

Ignite regional transformation. TRE Networks and regional leaders from government, education, non-profit andprivate sectors engage and focus strategically through Civic Collaboration.

Organize regional transformation.TRE Networks leads the regional transformation process in waves:Analyze & Legitimize, Convene & Align,Customize & Deliver.

Accelerate regional transformation. TRE Networks and local stakeholders craft New Narratives & Networks to propel the process forward.

Grow conditions for regional transformation. TRE Networks aims to mature Brainpower/Talent, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Quality Connected Places—the essential structures required for regional prosperity. Critically, TRE connects and maximizes interactions between players who can translate education into workforce, new knowledge into markets, and ‘place’ into vibrant hub.

Deliver tools for regional transformation. Through its national networks, TRE Networks creates customized strategies, products and services that strengthen regions and builds a national portfolio of tools including workshops, consulting services, programs, and policy change.

Realize Regional Prosperity. The goal of TRE Networks is to transform regions into diverse, integrated, and resilient economic systems expressed through Creative Hot Spots, Innovative Businesses, and Dynamic Clusters.

TRE’s National Network BuildsRegional Prosperity

TRE Networks system that takes best-in-

class regional transformation programs

and systematically restructures them

to be delivered to any other region that

needs to build innovation capacity. Each

region is unique in its needs, and so

programs are customized for individual

delivery. The TRE Networks portfolio

offers products and services to support

regional development needs in five key

areas: Civic Collaboration, New Narratives

& Networks, Brainpower & Talent,

Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and

Quality Connected Places.