Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Research And Innovation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board directs staff to negotiate term sheet for UWF’s Research for Tomorrow proposal to expand cybersecurity and computational research
Summary
The Triumph Gulf Coast board voted 5–0 to direct staff to negotiate a term sheet with the University of West Florida for a project that would expand research centers in analytics, computational intelligence and cybersecurity and create 101 net new jobs over 10 years.
The Triumph Gulf Coast board voted unanimously to direct staff to negotiate a term sheet with the University of West Florida (UWF) for the university’s Research for Tomorrow proposal, a multi‑year plan to expand research capacity in cybersecurity, advanced analytics and computational intelligence.
Dr. Rick Harper, Triumph’s economic advisor, summarized staff analysis and said the project received a top staff rating for economic impact. He said Triumph funding would support capital improvements to research infrastructure and staffing for research scientists, data analysts, software engineers and related personnel. The board heard a presentation from UWF representatives; Jeremy Cool said the planned facility will be a new, roughly 55,000‑square‑foot building that will house the proposed computational intelligence and cybersecurity centers.
UWF said it projects creating 101 net new, high‑skill jobs over the first 10 years and expects to generate substantial federal, state and industry grant funding tied to expanded research capacity. The university presented measurable targets, including projected grant and contract revenue increases and a ten‑year commercialization pathway. UWF officials said the initiative is designed to be sustainable and taper Triumph funding over time as other federal and industry sources scale up.
Public comment: There was no public commenter on this item.
Board action: The board voted 5–0 to move the proposal to term‑sheet negotiations.
Why it matters: Board staff characterized the proposal as transformative for the regional research ecosystem and said expanded capacity at UWF could attract federal research dollars and private partnerships that strengthen the region’s cyber and computational workforce pipeline.
Ending: Staff will begin term‑sheet negotiations with UWF; the board’s approval sends the project to the next phase of contract development.
