An Evaluation of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Institution-wide Reform of Undergraduate Education Initiative: The NSF Institution-wide Reform initiative was launched in 1995 to encourage reforms in undergraduate science, math, engineering and technology education throughout the United States. Through competitive grants, NSF funded campuses that demonstrated reforms that would permeate the entire culture of an academic institution. SRI examined how awardee institutions, ranging from two year colleges to research universities, undertook comprehensive curricular reform, pedagogical reform, and occasionally reform of tenure policies. SRI prepared an overall assessment of the Institution-wide Reform initiative’s national impact, as well as case studies detailing various strategies that awardees used to improve undergraduate science and mathematics education across disciplines.
Assessment of High Technology Industry Assistance. SRI identified and quantified government support programs for high technology industries in Japan, Europe, and the United States. SRI surveyed support in defense, aerospace, biotechnology, information technology, advanced industrial materials, and advanced manufacturing technology.
Defense Conversion Plan for Homestead Air Force Base, Florida. SRI developed a strategy for the reintegration of the Homestead Air Force Base into the local economy. SRI assessed the site's competitiveness assets and liabilities, developed and assessed a list of alternative reuses based on successful past base closures as well as an analysis of site characteristics, and recommended a cluster of reuses.
Evaluating New York State Centers for Advanced Technology Program. SRI assessed the relationship between the CAT program and the state's economic development objectives, as well as the structure, administration, and achievements of the program and each of the state's ten centers for advanced technology. SRI developed appropriate metrics to assess desired results. Results of this study were used to support continuation of the program into a second decade.
Financial Market Changes and Impact on Small Businesses: In a research project funded by the Ford Foundation, SRI conducted a thorough assessment of recent U.S. financial market developments and their impact on small business financing. SRI identified the continuing obstacles faced by small businesses, analyzed the forces driving changes in the financial services industry and drafted a set of recommendations addressing both supply side and demand side barriers for policymakers and financial institutions to expand small business financing.
Mid-Term Review of the Tax Holiday Scheme in South Africa: SRI collaborated with the University of Stellenborsch to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of South Africa’s tax holiday scheme in attracting new investment to South Africa and directly contributed to the eventual adoption of a new tax holiday scheme by the Government of South Africa.
Next Michigan Benchmarks: Measuring Michigan’s Competitiveness. A team of economists from SRI International recently assisted the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to benchmark the state against its competitive peers. The study covered more than 150 indicators that benchmark Michigan in seven categories: human investment, financial resources, innovation resources, infrastructure, business costs, globalization and business vitality, and quality of life. This study was designed to provide a solid foundation for developing a public-private collaborative strategy to position Michigan for a takeoff in innovative, technology-driven growth. The benchmarking results were presented at the Michigan Competitiveness Conference in May 2002, and assisted in developing a consensus in the public and private sectors for the next round of competitiveness enhancement efforts in Michigan.
Outcomes and Impacts of the State/Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (S/IUCRC) Program. The National Science Foundation contracted with SRI International to study the outcomes and impacts of the State/Industry University Cooperative Research Centers (S/IUCRC) Program. The objectives of the proposed research were to document the outcomes and impacts on industry of S/IUCRC activities, to document the outcomes and impacts of the S/IUCRC activities on the local (state) economy, and to report lessons learned for program improvement and future planning. As part of the project SRI developed measures of the effects of S/IUCRC program activities on Center outcomes as perceived by member companies, the economic impact of these outcomes on member companies, and the economic impact of Center activities and outcomes on the local economy.
Review of the Traditional Industries Program of the State of Georgia. SRI conducted an evaluation of the Georgia Traditional Industries Program (TIP) at the request of the Georgia Office of Planning and Budget. TIP brings industry leaders and university-based researchers together to develop and implement research-based solutions to problems critical to the competitiveness of Georgia’s traditional industries. SRI conducted interviews, analyzed publicly available data, and conducted two surveys, one of TIP researchers and one of industry participants, to develop the data and information that were used in developing our conclusions.
Roles of Technology Parks, Research Centers, and Incubators in Economic Development. For an agency of the Italian Government, SRI researched the use of technology parks, research centers, and incubators by regional and national governments in North America, Japan, and Europe. Based on case studies from each region, SRI identified a set of success factors that explain why some technology parks and related facilities and activities are successful in starting, attracting, and supporting technology-based companies, while other initiatives have been costly failures. The results of the study have been applied in several other SRI studies, and have been used in designing new parks and centers in northern Italy.
The Golf Economy—The Game’s Impact on the U.S. Economy. SRI assessed the impact of golf on the U.S. economy for the World Golf Foundation, conducting one of the first comprehensive studies of golf’s total economic contribution at the national level. The study looked beyond golf’s recreational value to the sport’s role as the nucleus of a major industry cluster that generates jobs, commerce, economic development and tax revenues for communities throughout the country. The analysis included such important, but often ignored segments as golf tourism and golf-related real-estate development.
The Impact on Industry of Interactions with Engineering Research Centers. In this project, SRI examined the patterns of interaction that emerged between academic engineering and industry as a consequence of NSF’s Engineering Research Center’s (ERC) program. More specifically, the objective of the project was to identify the results of those interactions in terms of the types of impact that they have on industry, as well as assess the value of theses impacts. SRI’s team approach to the project involved the development of a draft conceptual model of possible ERC impacts on industry, convening a series of industry participant focus groups to test and refine the model, collection and analysis of existing data from the ERC database and other materials available at NSF, preliminary interviews with a selected set of industry participants, a survey of ERC industry participants, and follow-up telephone interviews to further explore and validate information obtained from the survey.
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