The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) announced on April 2 that it has designated the Â鶹ӳ» as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) Designee in recognition of its strong commitment to economic engagement within the state of Â鶹ӳ».
The national designation acknowledges public research universities working with public and private sector partners to support economic development through a variety of activities, including innovation and entrepreneurship, technology transfer, talent and workforce development, and community development.
Established by the APLU in 2013, the IEP Designation Program is intended to help higher education institutions better know, measure, tell and enhance the story of their holistic economic engagement impact. To date, just over 80 institutions across the nation and in Canada have earned an IEP designation.
“Economic development is a major pillar of universities’ work,” APLU President Mark Becker said. “From talent development to pathbreaking research to entrepreneurship and beyond, institutions have a central role to play in economic development. We’re pleased to recognize the Â鶹ӳ» for its commitment to engaging its community around these issues to advance regional economic development.”
The University began its work on the IEP initiative in October 2022, and later that year, APLU officially accepted the University into an IEP cohort. In 2023, University President Brian Sandoval shared with the campus community the benefits of the IEP designation, the importance of the self-study process, and how the IEP designation aligns with the University’s core competencies as outlined in the 2023-2027 Wolf Pack Rising strategic plan.
“This designation reflects the University’s long-term and proudly held commitment to tangibly enhance Â鶹ӳ»’s economy and significantly improve the quality of life for all Â鶹ӳ»ns,” University President Brian Sandoval said.
The University received the designation after an independent panel reviewed the institution’s application, including an internal review and analysis of its economic engagement activities conducted with outside stakeholder input. APLU’s Commission on Economic and Community Engagement, which manages the designation process, is a national leader in efforts to help public research universities plan, assess and communicate their work in regional, national and global economic development and community engagement. The CECE “” includes tools for university self-assessment, metrics determination and economic impact analysis.
“The economic engagement self-study and IEP application process has been an instrumental tool for our University leaders to think more broadly and critically about its role in economic engagement,” Mridul Gautam, vice president for research and innovation, said. “The plan developed for this application will continue to be utilized iteratively to access progress, outcomes and inform future directions.”
Central to the IEP Program is the reviewer feedback process. Applications for the designation are evaluated by a panel of reviewers representing other universities and regional and national partners. Scoring was based on a range of criteria emphasizing universities’ development of their economic engagement enterprise, their planning efforts around economic engagement, strategic communications around these efforts, and participation in encouraging economic engagement among peer institutions.
Reviewers are kept anonymous, but provide valuable input to institutions on their applications and plans.
“The Â鶹ӳ»’s application is clear, crisp and loaded with relevant supporting details as to the University’s experience with and planning for meaningful economic and community engagement,” one reviewer stated. “I would recommend any aspiring IEP university to consult with the Â鶹ӳ» on its best practices – not only for the preparation of this application but for insights on strategic thinking, planning and doing, that make the University such a strong partner in Â鶹ӳ»'s economy.”
As part of the self-study conducted with internal and external stakeholders, the University identified three areas of institutional strength in economic engagement and described programs in these areas. The three categories of accomplishments that emerged were: Commitment to Land Grant 2.0 Mission, Economic Development Partnerships & Outcomes, and a Robust & Inclusive Innovation Ecosystem. Through qualitative and quantitative evidence, officials also identified areas for growth and improvement for the University’s economic engagement enterprise, and developed an improvement plan. The three areas of growth included: Expanding Innovation Through Industry Engagement, Augmenting Entrepreneurial Culture & Improving Processes, and Enhancing Education, Training Access, & Talent Development. This work demonstrated a commitment to continuous learning and improvement in this kind of engagement vital to universities and their regional partners.
“What we heard time and again was that the University’s partnerships - with the Governor’s Office, local governments, business and industry leaders, and other key partners - truly reflect how deeply engaged it is in driving Â鶹ӳ»’s economic growth,” Asta Ratliff, operations and projects director for the University’s Research & Innovation division and application chair, said. “It’s clear the University isn’t just keeping up - it’s moving at the speed of business.”
The data collection process, complemented through discussions with the project core team, workgroup members, University leadership and stakeholders, led to establish the University’s official definition of economic engagement.
“The institution’s definition of economic engagement is completely or nearly completely consistent with , , , , etc.,” one reviewer comment stated.
Institutions that have received the IEP designation have reported significant advancement of their efforts due to the stakeholder engagement and self-study efforts undertaken in conjunction with the program. They are leveraging their status as Innovation and Economic Prosperity universities to identify new areas of opportunity in aligning with economic development objectives. Those schools are developing deeper engagement with others in their regional innovation ecosystems and making changes within the institution to expand their impact.
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