Tapping State College Research and Development Capacity in Support of State Economic Development

AASCU staffer Daniel Hurley writes in Policy Matters (PDF):

Conclusion

Among the direct benefits of state investment in university research and development activities are new business start-ups, job creation, the attraction and retention of highly skilled, highly paid workers, increased tax revenues, and an elevated standing on the national innovation scene. The return on investment of these public tax dollars is accompanied by additional positive impacts derived from this research and technology transfer activity that benefit society as a whole, such as improvements in health care, the environment, transportation, and public safety.

In their efforts to implement a broad economic development strategy that includes applied research and product commercialization activities, state policymakers, in partnership with the private sector, should seek to tap the full potential of all four-year state colleges and universities. The extent to which individual regional state colleges are involved in applied research and entrepreneurial support activities varies greatly. Collectively, however, these institutions make a meaningful contribution to states’ overall economic development agendas. Granting all public postsecondary institutions the opportunity to participate in state-funded research and development grant programs, lending legislative and public policy support to facilitate state colleges’ efforts to attract, retain and expand businesses and industry clusters, and tapping the full slate of intellectual resources offered by university scientists will enhance states’ capacity to increase their competitiveness in the knowledge-age economy.