Glenn Research center also creates and supports over 7,000 jobs across the state

NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has played an important and well known role in the advancement of space exploration and modern aeronautics. Less well known but equally important is the Center’s status as a significant economic development engine and job generator for the state of Ohio. According to a new economic impact analysis released by Cleveland State University’s Center for Economic Development, NASA Glenn generates over $700 million annually in economic activity and creates and supports over 7,000 jobs. NASA Glenn also generates nearly $500 million in labor income and over $125 million in tax revenue per year.

“By every measure of economic impact the Glenn Research Center is a tremendous driver of the state economy and a major economic asset for Northeast Ohio,” notes Iryna Lendel, director of the Center for Economic Development in CSU’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs. “Additionally, the Center attracts talent and dollars to the state that have significant direct and trickle-down effects for the economy and local communities.”

Glenn actively seeks opportunities to collaborate with industry, academia, and other government agencies and laboratories through regional economic development efforts. Glenn makes its technology available to private-sector innovators through licensing options while incorporating private-sector developed technologies with NASA research.

“We strive to ensure that our unique facilities, technology and expertise benefit both NASA and U.S. taxpayers,” said Sandra Reehorst, deputy director of Glenn’s Office of Technology Incubation and Innovation. “It is our goal to make a positive impact on private sector job creation and increase private sector revenue.”

Economic impact analyses estimate the benefits within a regional economy generated by the economic activity of an entity. The NASA Glenn study used an input-output model to estimate the effect of the Center’s spending on the economies of Northeast Ohio and the state as a whole. It measured economic impact in terms of growth in economic output, value added, the number of new and supported jobs, labor income, and tax revenue.

CSU’s Center for Economic Development is a regional think tank that provides research, economic analysis and technical assistance to government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private industry in Northeast Ohio. It specializes in research on industrial clusters, innovation and entrepreneurship, and economic inclusion. The Center was founded in 1985 and has been designated as a U.S. Economic Development Administration University Center.

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