Research Funding and the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Latest: ARRA Awards and Proposals Update

As of October 30, researchers at KU's Lawrence Campus have received 44 ARRA awards — for $10.7 million — and have submitted 162 ARRA proposals — for $145.1 million.

University of Kansas ARRA Economic Impact Statement

Contact

RGS Communications

Kevin Boatright
Director
work (785) 864-7240
emailRGSstim@ku.edu or
kboatright@ku.edu

Some ARRA grant proposals may require or benefit from the addition of a statement that addresses the jobs-related economic impact of the proposed project. RGS has prepared a standard statement (see below) you can import in whole or in part for this purpose.

NIH Funding Opportunities

The NIH has added a new ARRA-specific page to its Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT) website. There you can learn about every NIH grant that's been awarded under ARRA, listed by state and institution. Abstracts for each award are available, along with the name of the PI and the amount of the award.

Note: Don't forget to review KU's monthly Funding Opportunities Bulletin on a regular basis.

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Federal Economic Recovery Information and Web Links

The web sites listed below are good sources of general information. The links above highlight more specific information by agency. We are adding entries as we receive them and deleting other when they expire. PIs who wish to take advantage of these opportunities need to act quickly. We also encourage you to submit your own information or ask questions by e-mailing RGSstim@ku.edu.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Home Page (ARRA)

http://www.recovery.gov/

National Institutes of Health

Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/challenge_award/

Overview Information
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OD-09-003.html

Review Criteria and Processes for Recovery Act Funds
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-054.html

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
http://www.nigms.nih.gov/recovery

National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/the_american_recovery_and_reinvestment_act/

National Science Foundation: http://nsf.gov/recovery/

Department of Defense: http://www.defenselink.mil/recovery/

Department of Energy: http://www.energy.gov/recovery/

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/recovery/

Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/index.html

National Institute of Standards and Technology: http://www.nist.gov/recovery/

Also: State of Kansas Recovery Website: http://www.governor.ks.gov/recovery/

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University of Kansas ARRA Economic Impact Statement

The University of Kansas (KU) makes a significant contribution to the economy of the state and the region, employing 13,000 faculty and staff and enrolling 30,000 students at campuses in Lawrence, Kansas City, Wichita and Overland Park. The university’s revenue from all sources exceeds $1 billion annually, of which about 20% is generated through grants and contracts. During FY2008, externally sponsored research expenditures totaled $197 million, and the National Science Foundation’s annual survey ranked KU 44th among national public research universities, based on federally funded science and engineering R&D expenditures.

It is estimated that the current proposal will create or retain _____ jobs at the university. The impact of this infusion of funding will not be limited to university researchers. Models used at KU show that each dollar of new household income leads to an additional 60 cents of income within Douglas County, home of KU’s main campus. The same models indicate that each $1 million in new household income per year leads to an additional 35 jobs in the county. When an investment is made in the bioscience sector, indirect employment grows at a higher rate than direct employment. The reason is that wages are growing faster in the biosciences than in other sectors, so dollars spent locally by one bioscience worker employ an increasing number of non-bioscience workers over time.

The 2006 Kansas City Regional Life Sciences Industry Census identified 200 life sciences companies employing nearly 20,000 people. It found tremendous opportunities for translational research and interactions between academic and industry scientists, and noted that university research expenditures had more than doubled in the prior six years. The report also noted the importance of a “life sciences corridor,” extending from Missouri into Kansas, with KU at its center. Academic life sciences research within this corridor exceeded $530 million in 2007. The report concluded that universities “represent critical centers of discovery and innovation that feed into the regional life sciences industry. Moreover, they employ a significant market share of the life sciences workforce.” Adding the direct jobs projected under the current proposal will increase the critical mass of this emerging cluster and will accelerate growth in both direct and indirect employment categories.

KU research has a significant economic impact in other ways. For example, there are currently 18 active start-up companies based on KU research, and 82 income-producing licenses for KU technology have been approved during the past 10 years – one third of them with Kansas companies. An important indicator of growth in this area is invention disclosures. During the whole of FY2008, KU researchers made 55 such disclosures. After the first three quarters of FY2009, there were 74, reflecting an increasing level of research at KU and a heightened interest in entrepreneurial activity among faculty in a variety of disciplines.

In terms of the construction industry, KU has also added $70 million in new bioscience research infrastructure during the past decade, and is poised to build a new home for its nationally ranked School of Pharmacy during 2009-11. Also planned is a new $8 million bioscience business incubator on the Lawrence campus. It will support university-related start-up companies and industry research collaborations with KU faculty.

KU will be able to make immediate use of new research funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Lawrence has one of the highest percentages of college graduates (47.7%) of any city in the U.S., and its proximity to Greater Kansas City ensures a strong labor market for jobs in research and other high technology fields.

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