In the period following the German reunification in 1990, Bundesrepublik Deutschland (i.e., Federal Republic of Germany) witnessed a temporary economic boom. However, the situation soon deteriorated. The federal government’s strategy of raising taxes and cutting spending had precipitated economic turmoil. Unemployment began to soar, given the massive labour force migration from the erstwhile eastern part of Germany to the western parts. By 1993–94, the unemployment rate in Erlangen, a Groβstadt in the state of Bavaria, had touched 7% and was getting worse. Concerned about the worsening socio-economic situation, then mayor of Erlangen, Dietmar Hahlweg, approached Siegfried Balleis, the head of the economic development department of the city administration, to find a way out. Together they had to chalk out a strategy for their region’s economic recovery. Hahlweg and Balleis, along with other administrators, studied the region’s strengths and observed that, compared to other large cities of Germany at the time, Erlangen carried the distinction of having the highest percentage of jobs in the field of medical research, production, and services. Hence, they concluded, their strength lay in the domain of medical (or healthcare) research.