Newly Released Regional Economic Impact Study Shows UCF Business Incubation Program a Major Job Creator

ORLANDO, Fla. --- A Regional Economic Impact Study of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program shows that the 14-year old network of economic development partnerships between private enterprise and local governments in Orlando, Sanford, Winter Springs, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Apopka and Daytona Beach has helped create literally thousands of new jobs with substantially higher wages than area medians. Gordon Hogan, Director of the UCF Business Incubation Program, said the 2013 Regional Economic Impact Study was commissioned by Randy Berridge, President of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, as part of the program’s ongoing effort to analyze and document its productivity and sustainability. Conducted independently by Vernet Lasrado, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Research at University of Central Florida, the 2013 Regional Economic Impact Study concludes that from October 1, 2011, through June 30, 2013, the UCF Business Incubation Program helped generate a direct regional economic output of more than $327 million from an estimated total output of more than $620 million. During the study period the UCF Business Incubation Program directly sustained 1,856 jobs in the Central Florida region and indirectly sustained an additional 1,500 jobs, resulting in more than $18.5 million in state and local tax revenues. Additionally, it is estimated that employees of UCF Business Incubation Program firms on an average earn an income of more than $58,000. “We are surprised and elated by the conclusions of the study,” Hogan said. “It shows we are on the right track and serves as a powerful stimulant for us to work smarter and work harder to improve our performance and extend our reach,” he said. Dr. Lasrado and his team employed a highly regarded and highly sophisticated methodology to more precisely determine economic impacts, Hogan said. “The IMPLAN methodology (IMpact analysis for PLANning) was developed by the University of Minnesota for the U.S. Forest Service more than 30 years ago and is widely regarded today as the most reliable tool for accurately assessing economic performance,” Hogan explained. Dr. Tom O’Neal, founder and Executive Director of the UCF Business Incubation Program, said the study indicates what he has been saying all along: that a focused university-based incubation program can be one of the most effective ways private enterprise can stimulate local economic development, spur job growth and help rebuild the economy. “For me, the most impressive finding was ROI---Return on Investment,” Dr. O’Neal said. The study concludes that during the study period the UCF Business Incubation Program helped generate a fiscal return of $6.16 for every $1 of public investment. Dr. O’Neal points out that the UCF Business Incubation Program employs only a handful of professionals. “It’s our client companies and graduate companies that create the new jobs and generate all the local community economic growth,” Dr. O’Neal said. “Our sole effort is to accelerate the rate at which they attain their most productive, most sustainable performance,” he concluded. Release of the 2013 Regional Economic Impact Study of the UCF Business Incubation Program coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week November 18-24.