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Research

Partnership and Collaboration

Solving problems locally and globally requires interdisciplinary and inter-industry teams. The Office of Research is proud to support a variety of partnerships.

Circular emblem with a lightbulb in the middle. Half the lightbulb is a growing plant and the other other is circuitry.Connected Communities Initiative

Illinois State University and OSF Healthcare signed a five-year agreement in 2023 to foster innovation and economic development across Illinois through the Connected Communities Initiative (CCI). CCI connects OSF clinicians with university faculty researchers to design innovative strategies to address healthcare challenges. Particular attention is given to clinical and patient education, health care engineering, data science, cybersecurity, and the science of length of stay and post discharge. Both organizations have committed $500,000 annually. Learn more about CCI.

Regional Ecosystem Partners

As Illinois’ first public university, Illinois State University is a critical anchor institution in the community. The Office of Research is proud to have relationships with the regional innovation ecosystem including the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Commission, McLean County Small Business Development Center, McLean County Chamber of Commerce, Minority Business Development Center, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Heartland Community College.

View the most recent Economic Impact Study

Corporate Engagement

Illinois State University is ready to partner with industry of all types and sizes to help achieve goals while offering meaningful research experiences for faculty and students.

  • Sponsored Research: The most common partnership model is sponsored or contract research. The company defines the scope of work, timeline, and deliverables along with benefiting from faculty expertise and time to solve a defined problem.
  • Joint Research: Company representatives and faculty jointly design and execute a research project. Often, the project incorporates research-driven discovery with real-world application.
  • Research Centers, Institutes, or Labs: As relationships develop through sponsored or joint research, long-term institutionalized partners may evolve into a Research Center, Institute, or Lab. These centers create a sustained ecosystem for ongoing research with a particular corporation or with multiple companies around a specific topic.
  • Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Commercialization: Companies can license university-developed technology through licensing agreements.
  • Facilities, Equipment, and Technical Services: Illinois State University has a variety of state of the art research and teaching equipment and facilities such as water remote sensing, nanophotonics, evolutionary ecology, geospatial analysis, University Farm, biomechanics, textiles, and nursing simulation. There are also several maker spaces and pieces of equipment like 3D printers, sewing machines, and laser cutters.  

If you are interested in exploring a research partnership, contact Harriett Steinbach.

Interested in exploring other kinds of corporate partnerships beyond research? Visit the Corporate Engagement website.