15 Ways University Research Shapes America

by Staff Writers

January 10, 2012

Most people, unless they’re in a research-based or academic field, don’t spend much time thinking about where the latest innovations in medicine, technology, science, or even the economy come from. While private sector businesses play a role, often the leading edge of research is found in America’s universities. Research labs at universities may not get much attention, but their impact on local communities as well as the nation as a whole can be quite large. In fact, you may not even realize the impact university research has had on your daily life, even if you live in a community close to a research center. Read on to learn how the leading research universities in the U.S. are shaping how we live, work, and play in a variety of ways.

1. Research universities help support regional economies A study by Cleveland State University published in 2010, demonstrated that research universities can have a big impact on the surrounding communities. While it’s tough to separate the economic impact of the schools from other factors, the research team found that aside from normal seasonal changes, the presence of research universities had a positive effect on local economies, with the largest and wealthiest universities naturally having a stronger impact on the surrounding community. With dozens of research universities across the nation, the cumulative impact of research universities may actually be quite large, in some communities providing revenues well into the billions of dollars.
   
2. Universities conduct the majority of basic research in the US Without research universities, many new innovations and breakthroughs in science might never happen. With the help of government funding, research universities conduct more than 55% of the basic research done in the United States. In comparison, businesses and industries conduct only 20% of basic research. This means that there’s a pretty good chance that the groundbreaking discoveries you’re reading about in the paper got their start at a research university.
   
3. Start-up companies that emerge from research done at universities are more likely to be successful This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to start a business using privately-funded research, but studies have shown that companies spun out of research universities have higher success rates then other companies. They’re also better able to create jobs and spur economic activity. These are all great things, especially in an economic downturn, and help demonstrate the lasting impact on the economy that work done at research universities can have. If you’re looking for an example, consider Google, whose founders completed their basic research at Stanford with an NSF grant before going on to found one of the biggest and most revolutionary tech companies in history.
   
4. University research is one of the biggest creators of jobs Innovation hasn’t really slowed down much in light of the economic downturn, so the jobs provided by university research projects, either directly or indirectly, has continued to grow. The more research being done, the more lab assistants and other qualified personnel universities need to hire in order to complete their work. Of course, that’s not the only way university research stimulates job growth. Research universities often help create spin-off startups, which are currently the main source of job growth in America (big business may not be hiring in huge numbers, but small businesses are). Additionally, they attract cutting-edge businesses to local communities by providing a highly qualified pool of applicants, creating more jobs not only for researchers, but also in a wide range of other support positions.Continued