Beginning with its nationally celebrated post-World War II Renaissance, Pittsburgh has worked to diversify its economy and to enhance the economic future for southwestern Pennsylvanians. Hillman Foundation has supported and encouraged these efforts with grants for key regional initiatives, workforce development, and community revitalization. Examples of such support include grants for various projects of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the Strategic Investment Fund, and The Technology Collaborative.
     Another bold initiative shaping the “new Pittsburgh” is the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, an economic development initiative to improve the regional economy and quality of life by “growing” the region’s strengths in the life sciences. The Greenhouse is a public/private partnership among the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, UPMC Health System, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and regional foundations. Working with private industry and the advanced research and healthcare capabilities of its partners, the organization invests in and supports the growth of companies whose economic health will strengthen southwestern Pennsylvania. These companies engage in bioinformatics, nanotechnology, diagnostics, medical devices, medical robotics, therapeutics, and tools and services.