Innovation and Economic Prosperity

NDSU's IEP designation helps the institution maximize economic engagement with industry

With extension offices in 53 counties and seven Research Extension Centers in North Dakota that offer a testing ground for prototypes and a platform to serve and support citizens, NDSU' s economic impact reaches into every county in North Dakota and is the very core of who we are as a Land Grant University.

The university is in the progress of obtaining Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) status from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU).

IEP impact to the state of ND

As North Dakota's sole land grant institution, NDSU leads all North Dakota higher education institutions in research funding from the U.S. Departments of Defense, Transportation, Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. In fiscal year 2023, NDSU reached all-time records of $190.3 million in research expenditures and $142.5 million in research awards in FY24.

IEP designees complete an intensive, introspective, and earnest process of institutional self-study and engagement with internal and external stakeholders to identify the strengths of the institution’s economic engagement enterprise and areas for growth and improvement—all while sharing and learning from peers and experts across North America. The process of earning the designation is an opportunity to strengthen stakeholder engagement, strengthen indicators of success, inventory work in economic engagement, identify strengths, and, more importantly, areas of growth and improvement.

By earning the IEP designation, any institution of higher education can better know, measure, tell, and maximize its contributions to “economic engagement,” which is defined as how universities and their public-private partners contribute to economic growth, opportunity, and competitiveness through: 

  • Talent and workforce development
  • Innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech-based economic development; and
  • Place stewardship via public service, Cooperative Extension, outreach, and community engagement.

The IEP Designation recognizes higher education institutions with a substantial, sustainable, and institution-wide commitment to economic engagement. The designation does not compare institutions across benchmarks, nor is it a competitive program in that participating institutions compete for a limited number of designee spots yearly. Institutions are compared qualitatively to assess the depth and significance of the commitment to and strategy for holistic economic engagement.

What is APLU

APLU is a membership organization that fosters a community of university leaders collectively working to advance the mission of public research universities. The organization's Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP)Program was established in 2013 as a collaborative institutional strategic planning and transformation program and distinguished recognition. 

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