Michigan Tech joins national push to highlight impact of research funding

What's happening: Michigan Technological University has joined the Institute for Research on Innovation & Science (IRIS), a national consortium of top research universities that uses data to demonstrate the public value of research funding. As a member, Michigan Tech will receive reports detailing how its research activities support regional and national economies, engage vendors, and shape the careers of research staff and trainees. The university’s researchers will also gain free access to a dataset called IRIS UMETRICS. The dataset is released twice a year and contains detailed, anonymous information about how more than $192 billion in research funding was spent at more than 100 universities.

What is IRIS? The Institute for Research on Innovation & Science is a group of research universities across the country that work together to show how research funding helps the public. Founded in 2015 and based at the University of Michigan, IRIS collects and studies data from its member schools, like how money is spent on projects, what companies are paid, and who gets hired to work on research.
IRIS then will provide information back to the members that help them show how their research benefits the economy and society by creating jobs or supporting local vendors.  

What they're saying: “We are pleased to welcome Michigan Tech to our effort to build a high-quality data resource that is ‘of, by, and for’ higher education institutions,” said IRIS Executive Director Jason Owen-Smith, a professor of sociology at the University of Michigan. “It’s essential that universities be able to measure and communicate the many ways people, communities, and businesses benefit from investments in research. With Michigan Tech’s participation, we can now tell an even more powerful story about how Michigan’s leading research institutions strengthen the state’s economy, workforce, and overall quality of life.”

What's next: Michigan Tech will continue in its various research projects, furthering not just the students and staff at the university, but also of IRIS. “Joining IRIS will empower Michigan Tech to tell a more complete story about the impact of the work we do in the Upper Peninsula and around Michigan,” said Andrew Barnard, vice president for research at Michigan Tech. “Our researchers do incredible, impactful work throughout the state and region, and we’re proud to celebrate that through the improved data visualization that IRIS can provide.”