The grant will establish the Knight Research & Education Collaborative in Akron, which will plan, coordinate and fund research and training initiatives that are expected to transform the Northeast Ohio economy. The collaborative, supported by the region’s major hospitals, university and medical school, will attract health-care businesses and create higher paying jobs in a region that once relied on the manufacturing industry. The partnership’s six initiatives include efforts to: increase research in the area’s growing biopolymer industry; create a center each for health care training, clinical trials and medical device development; and boost support for existing community clinics. The project expects to create 2,100 jobs, double the amount of research expenditures to $80 million and recruit or create 19 new companies – all by 2013.