The multiyear project has yielded an online resource and, perhaps more significantly, has established agreed-upon data points and developed a system for consistent annual reporting of key economic indicators.
Leah Merrifield, assistant vice chancellor for community engagement, helped lead the effort.
“Essentially, every dollar spent by Washington U. creates about $1.50 in additional spending in the region,” Merrifield said. “In 2013, the almost $2 billion spent by WUSTL supported more than 39,000 jobs in the region.
“We now have a system in place to collect agreed-upon data, in a consistent way, every year,” Merrifield added. “Peter Sortino (assistant vice chancellor for special initiatives) and I have led this project, with support from many different campus partners. IS&T (Information Services & Technology) has been a key partner, especially Craig Schaefer (director of application development and support in IS&T).”
Development Strategies, a St. Louis-based economic research consulting firm, helped determine the multiplier effect of WUSTL’s spending in the region.
For this project, the region is defined as the 15-county Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the City of St. Louis and parts of the states of Missouri and Illinois.
A downloadable brochure is available here.