OSUIT Launches Interactive Web Portal to Assist Businesses Impacted by Defense Cuts

OSUIT Launches Interactive Web Portal to Assist Businesses Impacted by Defense Cuts

Sara Plummer

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology is proud to announce the beta launch of an interactive web portal designed to analyze economic data on Oklahoma-based companies potentially impacted by defense cutbacks.

The web portal was built during Phase I of OSUIT’s Impact of the State’s Economy and Workforce (ISEW) program. ISEW Phase I was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA). 

The OEA grant to OSUIT’s Economic Development and Training Center was allocated to map the supply chain of industries affected by Defense Department spending in Oklahoma with the total project budget of nearly $1 million. During this time, the grant has helped maximize opportunities for OSUIT to study the defense industry’s impact on the private sector and global communities.

The beta version of the interactive web portal, which is at http://dod-ok.chmuraecon.com/Impact, is available for anyone to use. 

ISEW Phase I had two primary objectives: 1) – Develop an interactive web portal designed to provide details of the impact of DoD contracting in Oklahoma at the state, regional and county levels, as well as allow users to create ‘what if’ scenarios regarding the potential impact of DoD spending cuts in Oklahoma; 2) – identify, research and analyze the Oklahoma-based companies who are performing contract work for the DoD.

OSUIT has submitted a proposal for funding of ISEW Phase II.  Phase II is intended to be a 24-month high impact program designed to help Oklahoma-based DoD contracting companies replace declining defense revenue streams by diversifying their portfolio of business and increasing sustainability, thereby preserving jobs and replacing declining state tax revenues while diversifying the Oklahoma economy.

During ISEW Phase II, OSUIT will allocate funds to assist Oklahoma-based small and mid-sized companies that have been adversely affected by defense budget reductions. OSUIT will leverage relationships with other state entities and qualified service providers with subject matter expertise in continuous improvement, export assistance, new product development, growth and innovation, capital access for growth, strategic planning, supply chain optimization, sustainability, technology acceleration and workforce development, to help companies robustly expand into new, under-served and/or adjacent domestic markets, as well as export markets. OSUIT plans to work with as many companies as possible to successfully diversify their businesses. Ultimately, the ISEW Phase II program will create opportunities for Oklahoma companies to profitably grow, and thereby, create and retain high quality jobs for Oklahomans.

For more details regarding the ISEW program, please contact Ken Boykin, DoD Program Manager, at 918-293-5020, or Ken.Boykin@OKState.edu.