UofM Named a Finalist for APLU National Awards
150 Community Partners Helped Through Vision and Equity Collaboration
September 20, 2024 鈥� 榴莲直播 recently was announced as one of six finalists by the 2024 Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) in its annual Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) University Awards.
Other finalists include the University of Alabama at Birmingham, East Carolina University, the University of New Mexico, The University of Texas at San Antonio and Wayne State University. The winners will be announced during the APLU鈥檚 annual meeting in November.
All six finalists are competing for different awards that recognize exemplary and innovative case studies of economic engagement impact in three distinct areas:
- IEP Talent鈥�Award, recognizing exemplary initiatives in education and workforce development.
- IEP Place Award, recognizing exemplary initiatives resulting in social, cultural or community development.
- IEP Innovation Award, recognizing exemplary initiatives spurring innovation, entrepreneurship and technology-based
economic development.
In its bid to win the IEP Place Award, the UofM has taken a multipronged approach to address barriers to upward mobility and drive economic development in the Mid-South. To help the region access more state and federal grant funding, the University partnered with the Delta Regional Authority and the U.S. Department of Labor to conceive and launch the Delta Revitalization through an Innovation Vision and Equity partnership, which pairs rural communities with resources and guidance needed to apply for 鈥� and win 鈥� federal grant funding they are eligible for to drive economic development in their towns. Communities receive resources such as professional development, joint proposal development and expert review.
To date, this effort has engaged 150 community partners, encouraging organizations to apply for more than $25 million in funding with $1 million in funded proposals. The program has helped support applications to federal requests for proposals, educated communities on using bonds for economic development and provided every community with a strategic plan.
Additionally, the UofM鈥檚 Center for Community Research and Evaluation partners with community organizations and stakeholders to provide social science research and evaluation support for education and healthcare efforts to help address systemic challenges in the region.
All universities are considered finalists for the鈥�IEP Economic Engagement Connections Award, which is the top prize in the awards competition, recognizing overall excellence across all three award categories.
鈥淐ongratulations to our 2024 IEP Awards finalists on their outstanding efforts to support talent development, drive innovation and spur place-based development,鈥� said APLU President Mark Becker. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to spotlight the exemplary work of our IEP Award finalists in driving innovation and prosperity across their regions.鈥�
As defined by APLU鈥檚鈥�鈥�� a series of tools and publications that helps institutions better know, measure and communicate their work in economic engagement 鈥� universities collaborate with their public and private sector partners in their states and regions to promote economic growth, competitiveness and opportunity through a variety of efforts across the aforementioned categories.
To be eligible for an IEP award, an institution must first earn the鈥�鈥痜rom APLU, which recognizes institutional commitment to regional economic development. To earn the IEP designation, universities conduct a rigorous self-study of their economic engagement activities that includes input from external stakeholders. As part of the self-study, each institution identifies areas for growth and improvement within its economic engagement enterprise and develop an improvement plan. This work demonstrates a commitment to continuous learning and improvement in this kind of engagement vital to universities and their regional partners. More than 85 institutions have been named IEP Designees since the program was launched in 2012.
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