URI Economic Impact Report - Autumn 2020

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH Can sequencing a person’s genome help predict their potential for developing cancer or being resistant to drug therapy? What is causing the decline in the honeybee population? How do you improve humanitarian aid to regions hit by a natural disaster? What are the impacts of climate change on the food web? These are merely four of the thousands of the groundbreaking scientific research projects under way at The University of Rhode Island. The value of these projects to human health and safety is obvious. Less obvious, but equally valuable, is the contribution these projects make to the state’s economy. URI’s big ideas also generate big money for the Ocean State.

activities at the University since 2012, when the last economic impact report of this type was published. This report documents how research by URI faculty, students, and staff contribute to Rhode Island’s overall prosperity. Federal research awards at URI are ascendant, following some ups and downs in previous years. The University’s research portfolio increased to a record $100.9 million in research funding in Fiscal Year (FY)2019, which included funding from an array of federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). From 2012 to 2019, URI faculty were awarded 3,434 grants and received $679 million in grant revenue.

AMONG THE UNIVERSITY’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN FY19:

‰ 255 external grant awards and a record high $100.9 million in total research revenue.

‰ An increase in grant and contract expenditures to $89.8 million, with 20 percent growth over the trailing four years.

This report examines research and economic development

‰ 42 invention disclosures, 10 U.S. patents, and 42 commercialization agreements. Six companies have been formed by URI faculty since 2010. ‰ Entrepreneurship programs that served 541 small business clients and 84 manufacturing clients, totaling $38.5 million in new sales since 2012. ‰ One in three jobs created or supported by URI is related to the University’s research activities. In FY19, the operational and capital expenditures for sponsored research at URI supported 1,182 jobs (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). ‰ Three-year grants and contract revenue growth of 16 percent that placed URI first among New England land-grant universities (FY2016-FY2019).

PROPOSALS AND NEW AWARDS FY12 AND FY19

Proposals Submitted

Awards

Success Rate (NewAwards)

Year

Number Dollar amt Number Dollar amt

Number

Avg. award

FY 2012

654

$300.0 M

314

$98.3 M

48%

$207 K

FY 2019

620

$283.0 M

255

$100.9 M

41%

$214 K

‰ A return on grants and contracts by state appropriations placed URI third among New England land-grant universities.

Change

(34)

($17.0) M

(59)

$2.6 M

(7%)

$7 K

‰ Grants and contract dollars per instructional/research staff that placed URI third among New England land-grant universities.

ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT 2020 5

4 The University of Rhode Island