Oklahoma Aerospace & Defense Innovation Institute (OADII) ? An entity of the University of Oklahoma

PROJECT PURPOSE

Oklahoma leads the way in maintaining and modernizing our nation?s defense and providing state-of-the-art technologies and solutions to the warfighter. Public and private investments have made aerospace and defense (A&D) the state?s second largest industry. Taking advantage of this landmark opportunity with ARPA funds will rapidly accelerate the growth of the A&D sector, creating new opportunities across the state. A bold, transformative investment in innovation for advanced manufacturing and defense technologies will serve as the capstone of previous efforts; create high-paying stable jobs; enhance Oklahoma?s A&D economic sector; enhance A&D business recruitment and retention; and protect long-term viability of military installations. OU already hosts a best-in-class radar research facility ? the Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC) ? which is the largest university-based radar center in the nation. From this foundation of proven excellence, the Oklahoma Aerospace & Defense Innovation Institute (OADII) expands our expertise and standing in other areas, including: advanced manufacturing and materials; software engineering; and artificial intelligence and machine learning. The requested support will bolster the state?s capabilities in advanced technologies and manufacturing, resulting in accelerated growth of the A&D sector. We project the state investment leading to a minimum of $500M in Federal funding after 5 years.

EVIDENCE

The business model for OADII is built upon OU?s highly successful Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC), which is aligned with the first of OADII?s four focus areas, the other three being Sustainment and Modernization; Advanced Technologies; and International Security Policy. For the ARRC alone, OU has invested in technical staff and advanced radar facilities, which has resulted in the creation of a world-recognized leader in radar innovations with now over $50M in active R&D and a vibrant culture and exciting workforce development opportunities. Exemplars of highly effective academic research institutes with similar models to OADII include GTRI, UDRI, and NIAR.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

OADII will spark economic growth in Oklahoma by providing much-needed assistance to A&D companies, and by generating cutting edge technology. A special area of emphasis is assisting small and medium suppliers in rural Oklahoma, creating new jobs. This job creation is vital to the economic vitality of rural Oklahoma and serves as a catalyst for future prosperity. State investment, crafted with counsel from leading defense contractors and partners, and building on our proven expertise, is projected to attract a minimum of $500 million in Federal funding after five years. OADII will facilitate economic development by attracting A&D companies to Oklahoma and helping existing companies to expand by facilitating the growth of an educated A&D workforce having skill sets that align with and meet employer needs. OU has a history of engaging underserved communities in STEM recruitment programs. In OU?s Lead On Strategic Plan, we have committed to ?Cultivate community-engaged research collaborations to solve critical challenges facing the state of Oklahoma, tribal nations, the United States, and the world.? Our relationships with Oklahoma tribal nations have resulted in higher education student recruitment and retention through the OU Native Nations Center, research collaborations with tribal entities, and educational/workforce training opportunities.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Dedicated personnel administer the execution of OADII?s strategic plan, which defines processes for tracking success, as measured by a collection of key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs are assessed periodically, and an annual report is published detailing OADII?s performance. KPIs include: retention/recruitment of university engineering graduates to Oklahoma, state-wide economic impact; total business of OADII; new business capture; new jobs created in Oklahoma; new technologies developed and delivered to the warfighter or commercialized; number of consortium partners; contribution in recruiting companies to Oklahoma; capital and personnel assets; depth and breadth of core competencies; national recognition; marketing and PR recognition.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma