Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) Designation

Institutional Self-Assessment

We will engage internal (faculty, staff, leadership, and students) and external (businesses, local and state government, communities, and others) stakeholders to identify UW-Madison’s strengths and areas of growth.

Develop an Application

Once we can better know, measure and describe UW-Madison’s economic and community development impact around talent, innovation and place we then can demonstrate institution-wide commitment and strategy for economic engagement, growth, and opportunity.

Demand

External and internal forces are driving us to deepen and strengthen industry engagement across campus. COVID has only accelerated the needs of industry and academia to expand mutually beneficial collaboration. From the need for applied research to executive education, to projects and programs which benefit our students, faculty and the companies and communities in our ecosystem, embracing industry collaboration is becoming a necessity.

Given the critical role we play in our ecosystem and the current and potential economic impact of UW–Madison both in our region and beyond, and for our competitive future, we are seeking this designation. Importantly, our true goal is to recognize, adapt and grow our opportunities to impact the stakeholders we serve in collaboration with industry.

Opportunity

UW–Madison’s place in the heart of the Midwest represents an emerging opportunity to fulfill our research, teaching and community missions:

• A recent report by the Brookings Institution names Madison as the city most primed to be an innovation center. (Read more: “UW-Madison joins national leaders to discuss plan to promote high-tech growth”)
• The Endless Frontier Act, a legislative proposal currently in the U.S. Senate (S. 3832) co-authored by Representative Mike Gallagher (WI-8), would make bold investments in science, technology and innovation centers, including Madison. (Watch a discussion with the bill’s authors hosted by WARF. Find out more: “Endless Frontier Act to revitalize, transform Midwest industries”, WisBusiness.com)

Within our existing economic impact programs, we are looking to create synergies and extend our strengths while reducing barriers and inefficiences to accelerate the creation and enable the support of stakeholder growth.