Michigan's three largest universities contributed $16.6 billion to the state's economy but the number of start-up companies cultivated by the University Research Corridor (URC) is not keeping pace with its seven national peers, according to a report being released today. The economic footprint of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University is up 30 percent since 2007, the year of the first assessment of the URC, formed to collaborate on research, take inventions from labs to marketplace, and attract new jobs. The annual report also shows that the URC has generated more than 66,000 direct and indirect jobs across the state, and $6 billion in wages of staff and alumni that added $449 million to state tax revenues. This year's report, prepared by East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group, included a new ranking known as Innovation Power Ranking, which evaluates research and development spending, research commercialization and talent production. The URC ranked second when compared with the seven other major university research clusters it measures itself against, such as North Carolina's Research Triangle Park, California's Innovation Hubs and Massachusetts' Route 128 Corridor.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140121/SCHOOLS/301210020#ixzz2r2HIBiJg
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014301210053
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20140121/NEWS/140129985/university-research-corridors-economic-impact-in-michigan-tops-16b
http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2014/01/report_michigans_3_research_un.html