NSF expands pilot effort to measure the impact of its key technology investments on regional economic growth and job creation across America
Additional $10M for the Industries of Ideas initiative will inform how federal investments in key technologies, notably AI, are shaping American industries and jobs
The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) is investing $10 million over three years in the NSF Industries of Ideas (NSF IofI) initiative, expanding upon pilot efforts over the last two years to better assess the impact of the directorate's research investments on regional economies and job growth across the United States. This effort strongly aligns with NSF TIP's mission to develop data and actionable information tools that help quantify evolving regional job markets, local workforce dynamics and other key economic outcomes emanating from research investments in key technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. The initiative — a collaboration among the University of Michigan, The Ohio State University and New York University — aims to extend into more than a dozen states.
The NSF IofI initiative will expand upon existing partnerships and catalyze new partnerships among various stakeholders, including the Coleridge Institute, Capitol Region Economic Council, Education Commission of the States and National Association of State Workforce Agencies, as well as states like Ohio and New Jersey.
A key goal of the effort will be to enhance the data infrastructure required to evaluate the relationship between research investments in key technologies, such as AI, and the creation of high-paying jobs. By integrating various databases, innovative data methods and novel analytical tools, the IofI initiative will empower individuals, businesses and decision-makers in assessing the impact of federal research funding on local economies and in turn in navigating the evolving technology landscape. The work supports TIP's interests in assessing and predicting job outcomes in order to provide stakeholders insights for strategic investments in science and technology education and training to foster regional economic development and boost workforce productivity.
This expansion builds upon a successful prototype funded by TIP in 2023 and tested in Ohio. For example, that pilot yielded several novel findings, such as the finding that the average person in Cincinnati working in an AI-exposed health care and social assistance industry job makes 2.12 times the earnings made by a person working in a non-AI exposed part of the same sector ("AI-exposed" organizations are those that have hired one or more employees with an AI research background).
Over the next year, the IofI initiative will expand this assessment of the impact of AI investments to one additional state — New Jersey. This work will lay the groundwork for additional expansion into other sectors and states across the U.S., including an additional 10 states over the following two years.
More information about this initiative can be found on its award abstract.