Mission, Vision, and Strategy

Reflective of the distinctive character and mission of the Nistler CoBPA.

The Institute of Policy and Business Analytics (IPBA) is the product of years of planning by faculty and NCoBPA Administration. The College folded three disparate applied research entities into one research institute that reflects the distinctive character and mission of the NCoBPA: the intersection of the public and private sectors. Final approval occurred in October 2019, but the centers/bureaus that formed the Institute have decades of experience providing applied research and analytic support to North Dakota, the region, and the community.

Our Mission and Vision

Mission

To conduct basic and applied research that serves the region and state, provide educational opportunities, and enhance public outreach and engagement.

Vision

The Institute/Center will be the go-to resource in the Northern Plains for best practices in policy and business analysis, enhancing economic development, rural vitality, and elevating the external visibility and impact of the NCoBPA and UND.

Strategic Priorities

Research

The Institute will facilitate research productivity and discovery by collating, collecting, and analyzing data and distributing results and expertise to internal and external audiences. A key aim of research at the Institute is to increase external funding to UND, in part by using North Dakota as a “laboratory” for developing policy and business perspectives that would inform public discourse at the national level.

The focus areas of the Institute will have direct ties to the Grand Challenges of the UND Strategic Plan. The research conducted will be supported by various data and methods of inquiry, but there will be an implicit focus on the “big data” Grand Challenge, applied to policy and business issues and problems. Examples include the use of secondary data sources and gathering/housing primary data (survey, polling, and ND-specific demographic / economic data).

Although all of the research conducted will have business and/or policy implications and will support regional and state economic development, the initial focus of the Institute will be most specific to the following Grand Challenges: rural community health and vitality, unmanned systems, and energy and environmental research.

Education

The Institute will support academic programs, with an emphasis on experiential and service learning opportunities.

Service

The Institute will leverage University experts to address issues that engage business, government, policy, and the not-for-profit spheres.