Consortium to give UTSA new insight into economic impact of its research

MAY 7, 2024 — UTSA has joined the Institute for Research on Innovation and Science (IRIS), a consortium of America’s leading higher education institutions that provides data to demonstrate the public value of sponsored scientific research. These data focus on the economic impacts of research, including job creation.

UTSA’s research enterprise has reported continued, substantial expansion in recent years. In FY 2023, the university’s research expenditures grew to $152.3 million, up 7.5% from $141.7 million the previous year ($158.5 million counting unrecovered indirect funds), making FY 2023 the fourth consecutive year that annual research expenditures exceeded $100 million.

UTSA joined IRIS in a limited capacity in 2022, allowing the university to receive a State Legislative report. The report showed that sponsored research at UTSA accounted for $7.7 million in spending on research-related goods and services within the state of Texas.

“Our expanded partnership with IRIS will provide invaluable data to assess the impact of research on workforce training and the career trajectories of our students.”

Recently, UTSA became a full member of IRIS. This new membership level will provide the university with access to a more extensive set of data and analytic tools to examine the impact of its research activities in several areas, including workforce training, economic development and the career paths of researchers. These data will help identify strategic areas for further growth and inform research decision-making at the university.

“UTSA is proud to be a driving force in the Texas economy and we recognize that our research enterprise is a key contributor to that impact,” said Heather Shipley, UTSA interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “Our expanded partnership with IRIS will provide invaluable data to assess the impact of research on workforce training and the career trajectories of our students. By leveraging research activities, we can help shape the innovators of tomorrow and meet the evolving demands of our workforce.”

“There is a growing need for accurate data on the positive impact of research on the economy and employment. These data can inform decision-making processes, which better positions UTSA to increase the impact of our research contributions,” said JoAnn Browning, UTSA interim vice president for research. “Joining IRIS allows us to access these data and demonstrate how our research benefits society and the state’s economy.”  

IRIS will provide the university with detailed data and reports on research spending, research vendors, and the employment and earnings of research-trained employees who work or previously worked on research-funded projects at UTSA. It will provide an Employee Profile Report, which helps universities track the career paths of former research-trained employees. The university’s researchers will also have access to the detailed dataset IRIS has developed on the impact of funded research — including transaction-level information on more than 580,000 sponsored projects that have employed more than 985,000 researchers in the U.S. These projects have injected $192 billion across nearly 140 campuses around the country.

UTSA is among several public universities in Texas to join IRIS, an effort facilitated by the Council of Public University Presidents and Chancellors (CPUPC) that aims to demonstrate the collective impact public universities have in Texas. CPUPC includes public general academic universities, system offices and health-related institutions in Texas as well as the three two-year state colleges in the Houston area. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome The University of Texas at San Antonio into IRIS,” said Jason Owen-Smith, IRIS executive director and a professor of sociology at the University of Michigan. “UTSA was one of the original forces behind our partnership with Texas universities. We’re excited to deepen that relationship to help present a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of the vital role public universities play in shaping the economy and workforce within Texas.”

— Audrey Gray