$10 M Research Fund, Loan Forgiveness Program Among New Tech Initiatives in Arkansas

The State of Arkansas has enacted several initiatives this year to assist science, technology, and research within the state. The two largest efforts are a $10 million research fund and a loan forgiveness program.



Arkansas Research Matching Fund

In an effort to improve the state’s national ranking of 49th place in research performance, the Arkansas General Assembly created the Arkansas Research Matching Fund. The $10 million fund will be administered by the

Arkansas Science & Technology Authority, the state’s lead agency for R&D funding and technology-based economic development. (URL: http://www.state.ar.us/asta/ ) The $10 million appropriation is to fund the program for the next two years.

The new fund will provide grants to Arkansas universities and colleges to fulfill all or a portion of the match requirement of federally funded research projects from ten selected federal agencies. The program will complement the improvements made in Arkansas’s academic research capacity through the various federal EPSCoR programs.

Only large projects are eligible for consideration under the fund’s enabling legislation. State matching grants to purchase equipment and instrumentation must be for at least $20,000. Research and development matching grants will begin at $50,000. Costs related to construction of new facilities are not eligible under the program.



Technical Careers Student Loan Forgiveness

To encourage more technically trained graduates of Arkansas’s universities and colleges to remain in the state after school and to address the regional shortage of workers in selected technical fields, the state will forgive up to $2,500 of student loan debt annually for a maximum of four years and $10,000. The student must be employed full time in a high demand technical position with an Arkansas company to receive the credit. For the 1999-2000 academic year, the fields of Advanced Manufacturing, Computer/Information Technology and Biomedical/Biotechnology are approved for inclusion in the program. More than 100 technical education

programs at 24 Arkansas institutions of higher education were designated for inclusion.



The program is administered by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education. (URL: http://www.work-ed.state.ar.us/loanforgiveness.htm )

Other new technology-related efforts underway in Arkansas include a website to match skilled workers with technology-based jobs at companies located within the state and an expanded worker retraining program targeting the skills needed in high-tech industries.