Mar 17, 2021

UNI’s Business and Community Services serves Iowa businesses and communities

UNI’s Business and Community Services serves Iowa businesses and communities

UNI's Business and Community Services (BCS) programs have reached all 99 Iowa counties for 21 consecutive years and represent 12 distinct outreach programs that have profoundly impacted businesses and communities across the state. BCS programs include entrepreneurship and small business assistance, community and economic development, market research, environmental sustainability, additive manufacturing and metal casting.  During 2020, BCS programs served more than 3,200 unique clients across Iowa. 

Some of the projects conducted this past year are highlighted in this brief video. 

Each state dollar invested in UNI’s economic development outreach programs creates $5 in revenue from grants, contracts or private sources. The state’s Skilled Worker and Job Creation Fund appropriation to UNI helps offset a portion of the costs for economic development programming related to UNI’s Metal Casting Center, the Institute for Decision Making and Advance Iowa. In addition, state funding that BCS receives from the Regents Innovation Fund are invested in opportunities that yield successful startups, innovative business assistance and critical research leading to commercialization. BCS uses this appropriation towards four key areas of technical assistance:

  • Entrepreneurship Outreach and Business Succession

  • Technology Transfer, Business Incubation and Additive Manufacturing

  • Regional Development

  • Competitive and Market Intelligence

Use this link to read about a sampling of UNI projects across Iowa.