A rough indicator of its productivity for publication oriented research lies in the outside dollars earned relative to state dollars spent. This measure is hardly all inclusive but it correlates well with other less easily obtained data on research results in major universities. Finally, patents and royalties provide an indicator of the university's effectiveness in transferring the results of research into the state and national economy. The university reinvests its share of these self-generated funds into further research. Overall, research is a major engine of economic development.
Research is a very good state investment.
The state provides dollars for faculty to perform a variety of functions. IFAS's special mission as a land-grant institution requires this focus on direct agricultural research. Continuing internal review within IFAS may lead to reallocations between extension and research to meet changing needs in the state. We measure the return on the state's investment in research by calculating the sponsored research dollars generated for each state dollar spent on research. We expect a major research university to generate at least 3 sponsored research dollars from outside the institution for every state dollar spent on publication oriented research by the ranked faculty.