Arkansas Research Alliance Launches AR-NETWORK Program

$8M NSF Award is first of its kind for an Arkansas organization

The Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) announced today that it has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for $8 million to launch a new statewide, cross-sector program called AR-NETWORK. This program is designed to amplify Arkansas’ research capacity, accelerate commercialization, and expand STEM career pathways.

AR-NETWORK (Arkansas Nexus for Excellence in Technology, Workforce, Outreach, and Research Knowledge) is being funded through a new initiative at NSF called E-CORE. ARA is the first organization in Arkansas to receive an award from the program. This grant award is significant to the Arkansas research community because of the new program’s structure. The $8 million funding will be distributed over a four-year period.

“Our overarching vision is to expand, connect, and make sustainable the state’s use inspired research ecosystem,” said Bryan J. Barnhouse, ARA President and CEO. “Driving economic growth, delivering societal impact, and developing our STEM workforce are the primary goals.”  

AR-NETWORK is led by principal investigator Sarah Burnett Smith who recently joined ARA as a program director. Smith will be supported by ARA team member Dr. Doug Hutchings and a team of co-principal investigators representing the project’s key partners: Dr. David Hinton, University of Arkansas; Tiffany Henry, ACC Capital Foundation), Dr. Julie Mikles-Schluterman, Arkansas Tech University; and Dr. Emad Badradeen, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

“With this E-CORE award, we can weave together Arkansas’s extraordinary research talent and industry know-how into one cohesive innovation engine,” said Smith. “The result will be new jobs, new companies, and new opportunities for Arkansans across the state.” 

The award assembles a statewide network of partners from academic and non-profit sectors with strong expertise and deep understanding of Arkansas’ economic and educational strengths and challenges. The project earned the full support of ARA’s Board of Trustees and established a new partnership with Arkansas State University’s Office of Behavioral Research & Evaluation. AR-NETWORK will comprise more than a dozen private-sector collaborators spanning advanced materials, ag-tech, logistics, and digital health. 

“Strengthening our applied research and development capacity and fostering industry partnerships are critical for growing our innovation economy in Arkansas,” said Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald. “This award from the National Science Foundation empowers AR-NETWORK to support the research community in Arkansas for years to come.”

In 2023, NSF retired a large, comprehensive funding initiative that had served as a primary source of research funding for more than 30 states since 1979. That program had strict guidelines including a limit of one active award per state and integrated support for research, education, and administrative activities. The limitation called for recipients to provide statewide support for research administration and technical assistance, which was managed in Arkansas through a state office within the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC).

The new initiative and funding programs that were introduced have revised eligibility guidelines and a modular structure. Applicants can now choose to either request funding for administrative activities or funding for research activities, as separate but complementary funding streams. The new guidelines require an organization within an eligible state to receive an E-CORE award, the administrative funding stream and ARA’s award, before any college or university in that state can compete for awards through the complementary research funding stream. State governments were ineligible to apply to the administrative funding stream, which incentivized the Arkansas research community to identify an eligible organization to assume statewide leadership under the new structure. 

ARA led a year-long effort to develop the AR-NETWORK project and pursue this award not only to expand the services and technical assistance offered by ARA, but also to enable all Arkansas colleges and universities to compete for research funding through the complementary program. This is the first such award in the State of Arkansas. A total of $44,981,508 has been awarded to 12 states through this program since its launch. Due to the revised guidelines, only the researchers in those 12 states will be allowed to pursue research funding through the complementary program.

“Think of the Arkansas innovation ecosystem as a professional playing field,” said Bryan J. Barnhouse, ARA President & CEO. “To win, we need research talent and teamwork. AR-NETWORK will expand the roster and put more players on the field, equipping them to be more competitive for research funding and attractive for more engagement from industry – state and nationwide.” 

Goals for the AR-NETWORK program include offering additional funding to jump-start new research, hosting statewide workshops that pair scientists with entrepreneurs to form new startups, and creating student internships and teacher externships with Arkansas companies to strengthen the talent pipeline.

“Arkansas is on an upward trajectory,” said Barnhouse. “Our state has shown time and again that if you can bring the right people and resources to bear, like AR-NETWORK, you can supercharge that trajectory.”

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About Arkansas Research Alliance 

Founded in 2008, Arkansas Research Alliance 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 opportunities.