Report: Arkansas Research Alliance has $1.3 billion economic impact on state

The Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) was formed more than 15 years ago and its efforts have had a more than $1 billion impact on the state’s economy.

A new report prepared by TEConomy Partners for ARA revealed that since its creation in 2008 it has invested $8.3 million to help attract and retain 39 top tier researchers, collectively known as the ARA Academy. Their research has contributed $1.3 billion in total economic impact to the state, secured $205 million in new research funding, and produced 350 high-quality jobs averaging more than $80,000 in annual compensation.

Additionally, ARA investments have generated $26.1 million in state tax revenues — a better than 3-to-1 return on the state’s investments in ARA to date. ARA Academy researchers have leveraged their ARA funding nearly 25 times – each dollar of ARA investment has supported $24.75 in total research funding.

“What Arkansas receives from enabling research far outweighs the cost of investment,” said Bryan Barnhouse, ARA president & CEO. “To report a return of over one billion dollars shows that the ARA formula works and that ARA is a proven economic development model that can scale with more funding.”

ARA was formed as a public-private economic development organization to meet new competitive challenges by leveraging the potential of university research. ARA is a strategic partnership between academia, business, and government and represents six research institutions – University of Arkansas, Arkansas State University, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, UA Little Rock, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The sixth institution is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s National Center for Toxicological Research – the state’s largest national laboratory.

The chancellors for each of the five academic institutions along with 20 business leaders from some of Arkansas’ most innovative companies sit on the ARA Board of Trustees.

ARA accomplishes its impact with an annual budget totaling $1.9 million. Two-thirds of its funding is provided by the state through the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, 28% through its Board of Trustees, and 5% through federal funds.

New ARA initiatives have created the Arkansas Core Facilities Exchange – an online resource showcasing over 350 research assets, including scientific equipment and expertise available for use and collaboration – and Impact Grants, a program that provides “finish line funding” for projects on the cusp of commercialization or larger extramural grants.

“We continually ask ourselves; how do we provide more value to the research community? How can we provide more value to Arkansas? In a way, ARA is an experiment that keeps discovering new ways to benefit us all,” said Barnhouse.