South Dakota Science & Technology Plan Positions the State Towards Economic Growth

–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–

Brookings, SD — From biopharmaceutical companies that are leading the fight against disease to industry-leading electronics companies that light venues throughout world, South Dakota is home to hundreds of science and technology businesses thanks to a unique partnership of state government, higher education and the private sector.

The result of this partnership was the South Dakota Science and Technology (S&T) plan, first created in 2010 at the request of Governor Mike Rounds. In 2013 Governor Dennis Daugaard tasked the SD EPSCoR Advisory Committee to update the plan to help guide and focus infrastructure development investments, as well as workforce development. The plan can be accessed at www.sdstplan.org.

The goal of the S&T plan is to build science and technology capacity in South Dakota that will promote innovation, foster knowledge-based companies, create better-paying jobs and generate more opportunity for all South Dakota citizens. Science and technology is having a positive effect on the state’s economy. For example, the state’s levels of academic science and engineering research and development (R&D) per $1,000 of Gross Domestic Product more than quadrupled, outperforming national standards. This growth is a direct reflection of statewide investments towards research infrastructure, which has brought in new companies and increased job opportunities for South Dakotans.

The S&T plan employs a simple model that proposes investments in three key elements of an entrepreneurial “ecosystem”: ideas, talent and companies. It presents a coordinated framework of programs and policies to launch economic growth in five targeted industry sectors:

• Value-Added Agriculture and Agribusiness
• Energy and Environment
• Materials and Advanced Manufacturing
• Information Technology/Cyber Security/Information Assurance
• Human Health and Nutrition

“The five targeted industry sectors of South Dakota’s Vision 2020 strategy either grow the economies of large and small communities across the state by creating higher-paying jobs and high-value exports by directly impacting the quality of life for South Dakota citizens,” said Gary Archamboult.

Archamboult serves on the SD EPSCoR advisory committee and is the Director of the Small Business Innovation Research program for South Dakota assisting the transition of university research to the commercial sector.

Through a series of marketing and communication initiatives, SD EPSCoR and its advisory committee are shining a spotlight of how science and technology are making positive impacts through educational programs, internships and new business ventures across South Dakota.

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 About South Dakota Science and Technology: In 1980, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). The EPSCoR program is designed to assist states to establish a self-sustaining academic research enterprise with the competitive capability that will contribute to the states’ economic viability and development. SD EPSCoR’s mission is to strengthen research and education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) across South Dakota to increase science literacy and drive science-based economic development. SD EPSCoR helps build South Dakota’s research infrastructure and increases its capacity to successfully compete for federal funding. To learn more, please visit www.sdespcor.org