North Dakota Centers of Excellence: $16.56 Impact for Each State Dollar spent So Far

Providing strong evidence for how public investments in research and TBED pay off even on a short time horizon, a recent impact analysis calculated the total impact from the first $19.9 million North Dakota spent over the past four years for the establishment of 20 Centers of Excellence across the state. The analysts from North Dakota State University reported a combined cumulative impact of $329.5 million for the 30 months ending June 2009. The total includes both direct reported results and estimates for indirect impacts. Already, the centers and their client businesses reported direct employment growth of 921.5 jobs. The centers also had captured $115.5 million in match and federal research leverage from the state’s initial investment. The analysis concluded because of the Centers, seven new spin-off companies were created, five companies expanded within North Dakota, and five companies expanded to the state. An additional $42.4 million has been disbursed to the centers or awaits future allocation by the state. The full report is available at: http://www.commerce.nd.gov/news/detail.asp?newsID=610