About

ABOUT ARA

Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) is dedicated to elevating a fundamental belief: Research Matters. Operating as a public-private partnership, ARA invests in research that stimulates innovation, encourages collaboration, and strengthens economic opportunity.

ARA’s mission is to invest in strategic research talent recruitment, retention, and recognition to generate scientific and engineering breakthroughs that support statewide economic development.

ARA’s vision is an advanced Arkansas economy fueled by robust and collaborative university research talent and capabilities.

When ARA launched in 2008, it was through an imagined future for our state that was full of promise and teeming with opportunities for economic development, tech-based innovation, and advancement. Today, that promise is alive and well, and job-creating research is recognized as a vital pathway to progress. ARA continues its evolution from an aspirational organization to one that is delivering real impact for Arkansas. We’re proud to foster collaboration between industry, government and academia, and have expanded our research partnerships with universities and other public and private entities to generate value for the people and businesses of our state. At a time when federal research dollars are shrinking, ARA is stepping up efforts.

STRATEGIC FOCUS

ARA concentrates on opportunities to bring together science and the marketplace. This strategic focus helps ensure that Arkansas’ entrepreneurial strength is bolstered by the recruitment and retention of top research talent in areas that are commercially viable in the state.

Our investments accelerate economic growth and collaboration among five Arkansas research universities and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR). The outcomes of these partnerships leads to increased innovation and economic stimulation. They are also modeled in a way that balances embracing unique research capabilities of individual institutions and areas of the state and recognizes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Our partnerships produce outcomes ranging from advancements in precision cancer therapies to cleaner water that lead to increased innovation and economic activity.