University Economic Impact Metrics

Category:  R&D, innovation, commercialization; business creation & development

Overview: The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research advocacy organization of public research universities, land-grant institutions, and state university systems with member campuses in 50 states and the District of Columbia. APLU’s Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity (CICEP) is developing a set of metrics that universities can use to describe their contributions to regional economies. The initiative’s goal is to create a resource for universities to better measure and describe their multi-faceted contributions to innovation and economic growth.

Unit of Analysis: Universities

Coverage: Members of APLU initially. APLU also will promote the adoption of the metrics by other universities.

Size:  At present, 35 academic institutions participate in the CICEP Metrics pilot. In fall 2012, APLU will encourage all 218 member institutions to adopt the metrics.

Form: To be determined

Frequency: Annual

Key Data Elements (under development):

Relationship with industry	Developing the regional and national workforce	Knowledge incubation & acceleration programs
Material transfer agreements Consortia agreements Sponsored research by industry Clinical trials Service to external clients	Student employment on funded projects Student economic engagement Student entrepreneurship Alumni in the workforce	Incubation & accerlation program success Relationships between client/program participants & host university Ability to attract external investment

Data Collection Methods: Institutions primarily collect data from internal files, surveys of students and alumni, and state employment records.

Access: Through individual institutions. APLU is likely to make data available, but the means and level of aggregation has not been determined.

Potential Uses for Regional Analysis: Assessing individual university’s economic contributions to a region; comparing economic roles of universities in various regions; developing a typology of universities by type of contribution and determining the implications for university policy and programs

For Additional Information:

• Website: APLU CICEP Metrics
• Contact: Jim Woodell, Director of Innovation and Technology Policy (jwoodell@aplu.org, 202-478-6044)