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Ohio State Commits $100M for Global R&D Impact

As the authors of the recent Swedish report, The Internationalization of Corporate R&D, pointed out, industrial R&D may increasingly be found concentrated around public and private research institutions with strong research capabilities related to the specific corporation’s interests. As companies become increasing global in their structure, so, too, will the location of the research expertise that they draw on. State investments to strengthen university R&D capacity and expertise, then, could be a logical approach for regions to remain or become significant players for the knowledge economy. Fortunately, that’s a fundamental approach for many state TBED strategies.

With its Third Frontier Project, Ohio provides just one example. But Ohio State University (OSU), the state’s largest research institution, is taking the matter into its own hands, as well. On July 7, the university announced plans to invest $100 million over five years to support 10 research projects deemed "high-impact." While most major research universities use internal dollars to fund faculty research, OSU believes the size of its investments will help make a difference in the scope of the research undertaken and benefits accrued.

Competing in a globalized R&D environment is one of the explicit reasons university officials gave for making the awards though a competitive program called Targeted Investment in Excellence, or TIE, program.

The programs chosen are ones that will provide the greatest return on our investment, elevating not only the university’s academic stature but, ultimately, the quality of human life, OSU Executive Vice President and Provost Barbara Snyder said. These are well thought-out and, in many cases, interdisciplinary programs that will allow Ohio State to gain world-wide visibility as a top research university.

Many of the projects are interdisciplinary in design, reflecting yet another trend in how R&D has changed over the past decade. Recipients include:

* Climate, Water and Carbon Program
* Public Health Preparedness Program
* Mathematical Biosciences Institute
* Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics
* Advanced Materials Initiative
* Population and Health Initiative
* Translational Plant Sciences
* Music Industry Program
* Micro-RNA Project

The university will reallocate approximately $50 million in central funds over the next five years toward the competitively chosen projects; these funds will be matched on a one-to-one basis by the participating colleges. The 10 TIE projects were selected from 46 proposals submitted from across the campus.

More information is available at: http://www.osu.edu/news/newsitem1380

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2006. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged. Please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected.

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