IBRC Scores Grant

The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded a nearly $500,000 grant to the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. The funding will boost development of the IBRC’s StatsAmerica.org website and databases.

The tool is used by economic development professionals, planners and researchers. The two-year grant will also help the center launch a new digital resource library.

Director Jerry Conover says "we originally developed StatsAmerica as a robust and convenient information resource for use by economic development professionals. Over time, it has become one of the most widely used sources of detailed data for every county in the nation, including demographic, workforce and economic statistics."

Among the tools included in the StasAmerica suite is the Innovation Index, which the IBRC says helps to "diagnose a region’s strengths and weaknesses with regard to innovation-driven economic activity." It has been used recently by officials participating in the 11-county, I-69 Innovation Corridor regional initiative, which is led by the University of Southern Indiana.