The beginnings of the Georgia Research Alliance can be traced west from its Atlanta headquarters to Austin, Texas.
In 1983, the State of Georgia failed to win a headquarters bid for Microelectronics Computer and Technology Corporation, a large industry consortium that was looking for a place to develop the next generation of semiconductor technology. The consortium located in Austin, where it jump-started the city’s fledgling technology industry and established a high-tech hub.
The critical factor in Austin’s win: a public-private partnership that leveraged the government’s funding resources and the private sector’s energy and creativity. Georgia quickly realized the benefits of having a privately run technology alliance that could tap into state dollars to foster innovative research.
In 1990, a group of Georgia leaders established the Georgia Research Alliance as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization to allow business, research universities and state government to collaborate to build a technology-driven economy fueled by innovative university research. The late Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr. – who had chaired the Georgia Research Consortium, the state’s early attempt at a technology authority, in the 1980s – was named chair of the GRA.
The plan was to attract the world’s pre-eminent scientists to lead extraordinary programs of research and development at affiliated Georgia research universities. The focus would be in areas with the most potential for generating new companies, for helping established companies grow, and for creating new science and technology jobs.
The cadre of GRA eminent scholars would:
- compete successfully for a larger share of federal and foundation research funds
- attract other talented faculty and graduate students to Georgia
- foster new companies and create relationships with industry to commercialize technologies developed through research
With the financial backing of the Georgia Legislature, the state’s research universities, private foundations and other supporters, the GRA has focused the past 18 years on marshalling talent and resources and driving an effective strategy for achieving these results.
Today, the GRA is an internationally acclaimed model for bringing business, research universities and state government together to create and sustain a vibrant, technology-rich economy for the state. The Alliance’s affiliated research institutions are Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Medical College of Georgia and the University of Georgia. One of the GRA’s most important accomplishments has been bringing together the state’s research institutions to foster cross-university research, which is often critical when competing for federal research funding. Presidents of each university sit on the GRA board along with prominent state business leaders.
The Alliance achieves its goals through strategic investments at Georgia’s leading research universities in three programs: GRA Eminent Scholars, centers of research excellence and commericialization. To date, the Alliance has invested approximately $467 million, which has helped attract more than 60 GRA Eminent Scholars, leveraged an additional $2 billion in federal and private funding (a return of more than $4 for every $1 invested), created more than 5,500 new science and technology jobs, established more than 150 new companies, and allowed established Georgia companies to expand into new markets.