FSU’s $461 Million Research Engine, FAMU’s Partnership Push, and the 208 Acres Where Tallahassee’s Second Economy Lives
TallahasseeBusinessNews.com | By Brian French | Published September 10, 2026
This is the baseline edition of the University Enterprise Pipeline, a Florida Authority Network quarterly series tracking the research dollars, capital projects, commercialization activity, and startup formation flowing from Florida State University, Florida A&M University, Innovation Park, and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory into the Tallahassee economy. Updated each quarter as sponsored-research, HERD, and tech-transfer data are released.
Quick Answer
How big is the university research economy in Tallahassee? Florida State University’s annual research expenditures have reached $461 million, up $111 million (roughly 48%) from $350 million in 2021, according to Florida Board of Governors data presented in March 2026, making FSU the largest research enterprise in North Florida. FSU received $415.7 million in new sponsored contracts and grants in fiscal 2024 — a record — before new awards fell to $271 million in fiscal 2025, a $145 million drop that will flow through expenditures over the next two to three years. Florida A&M University created a new senior vice presidency for Enterprise Partnerships & Innovation in September 2025 to expand corporate and governmental collaborations. The physical center of this economy is Innovation Park, a 208-acre research park with 17 buildings and roughly 1,900 jobs, home to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory — the only national laboratory in Florida — with 7.3 acres still available for development. Tallahassee’s universities are its only major export industry, and the pipeline’s leading indicator turned down in fiscal 2025.
The Numbers at a Glance
| Metric | Figure | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FSU total research expenditures | $461 million | Latest HERD reporting (FY 2024) | Florida Board of Governors, March 2026 |
| FSU research expenditure growth since 2021 | +$111 million (from $350M); FSU cites +48% | 2021–2024 | BOG; FSU Office of Research |
| FSU sponsored research awards | $415.7 million (record) | FY 2024 | FSU Economic Impact report |
| — federal share | $241.1 million | FY 2024 | FSU |
| — state and local share | $52.2 million | FY 2024 | FSU |
| — private share | $122.3 million | FY 2024 | FSU |
| FSU sponsored research awards | $271 million (-$145M) | FY 2025 | FSU Economic Impact report |
| FSU student spending in local economy and at university | $1.044 billion | FY (latest reported) | FSU Economic Impact report |
| FSU research centers and institutes | 60+ | 2026 | FSU Office of Research |
| Innovation Park land / buildings / jobs | 208 acres / 17 buildings / ~1,900 jobs | Current | LCRDA |
| Innovation Park developable land | 7.3 acres | Current | LCRDA |
| LCRDA Technology Commercialization Grant | Up to $15,000 per award | Annual competition | LCRDA |
| Florida State University System research rank | 5th nationally | FY 2024 | BOG / NSF HERD |
| Statewide university research funding | $3.24 billion | FY 2024 | BOG |
Fiscal-year definitions differ across sources; see Methodology.
What the Data Shows
FSU has grown research by nearly half in five years — and just hit an air pocket
The Board of Governors’ March 2026 review of research rankings put FSU’s research expenditures at $461 million, up from $350 million when President Richard McCullough arrived in 2021. FSU’s own Office of Research describes this as 48% growth over the period, driven by the ASPIRE research strategic plan, the opening of the Interdisciplinary Research and Commercialization Building, and IGNITE Tallahassee, a new innovation space. FSU now houses more than 60 research centers and institutes and distributed more than $3.6 million in internal seed funding through its Council on Research and Creativity last year.
But new awards — the money that becomes next year’s expenditures — tell a more cautionary story. FSU’s own economic impact reporting shows sponsored awards peaked at $415.7 million in fiscal 2024, then fell to $271 million in fiscal 2025, a 35% decline. Awards lead expenditures by 18 to 36 months as multi-year grants are spent down. Unless fiscal 2026 awards rebound, the $461 million expenditure figure is likely to plateau or decline in the fiscal 2027 HERD data.
For context, the University of Florida — the state’s largest research university — reported a record $1.34 billion in fiscal 2026 research spending this week, up just 0.5% from the prior year, with its leadership publicly noting close attention to federal research-funding changes. FSU’s award drop is consistent with a statewide slowdown in new federal commitments.
FAMU is building a partnership office from scratch
Florida A&M University President Marva Johnson appointed Marcus H. Burgess, Ed.D., as the university’s first senior vice president of Enterprise Partnerships & Innovation, effective September 29, 2025. Burgess, previously interim president of Saint Augustine’s University and vice president for institutional advancement at Claflin University, is charged with building a comprehensive strategy for corporate, philanthropic, governmental, and inter-university collaborations and with advising the president on partnership funding and institutional positioning.
For Tallahassee’s business community, the practical significance is a single point of contact for corporate research partnerships and workforce programs at an institution that shares the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and operates the Small Business Development Center inside Innovation Park. The pipeline series will track the partnerships Burgess’s office announces over its first full year.
Innovation Park: 208 acres, 17 buildings, and Florida’s only national lab
The Leon County Research and Development Authority (LCRDA) owns and operates Innovation Park, adjacent to the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Of the park’s 17 buildings, nine are owned by FSU, one by FAMU, five by the Authority, and the remainder privately. Roughly 1,900 people work there. The park’s research concentrations are magnetics, aero-propulsion, materials, energy, health, and life sciences.
Its anchor is the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab), funded by the National Science Foundation and operated by FSU. It is the only national laboratory in Florida and holds more world records for magnet strength than any facility on earth. Other tenants include FSU’s Center for Advanced Power Systems, the Florida Center for Reading Research, and the FAMU Small Business Development Center.
The LCRDA runs two programs relevant to local business: a Technology Commercialization Grant competition awarding up to $15,000 to convert research into commercial products, and a Technology Incubator in partnership with the FAMU SBDC. The park has 7.3 acres of undeveloped land available for lease — the last remaining room for a private R&D tenant adjacent to the MagLab.
FSU Health: the university becomes a hospital developer
FSU launched FSU Health in 2022 and has an academic health center under construction on the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare campus, scheduled to open in 2026. In March 2025 the university announced it will build an FSU Health hospital in Panama City Beach, with construction to begin soon after and a targeted 2028 opening, to be leased and operated by TMH pending City of Tallahassee approval. The Panama City Beach project extends FSU’s footprint — and Tallahassee-based TMH’s — into the Emerald Coast market and is the largest university-driven capital project in the region.
What It Means for Tallahassee Business
Construction and engineering firms: The FSU Health academic center (2026), the Panama City Beach hospital (2028), and IGNITE Tallahassee represent a multi-year pipeline of university-sponsored construction that does not depend on the state’s general revenue cycle.
Technology and life-science companies: The MagLab, Center for Advanced Power Systems, and materials research base create a sponsored-research customer that private firms can contract with; the LCRDA TechGrant is the lowest-friction entry point.
Landlords and developers: 7.3 acres remain at Innovation Park. Private lab and office demand from spinouts and research partners has historically exceeded the park’s ability to deliver space; the next private building there is a live opportunity.
Employers: With 1,900 jobs in the park and tens of thousands of students at FSU and FAMU, the university system is the region’s deepest technical-talent pool. Burgess’s new FAMU office and FSU’s Office of Research are the front doors.
Brian’s Take
Tallahassee has two economies. One is government, which doesn’t export anything. The other is the universities, which export knowledge, attract $461 million a year in outside research money to FSU alone, and put 1,900 people to work in a research park most residents have never driven through. That second economy is the one worth watching, and right now its leading indicator is flashing: FSU’s new awards fell from $416 million to $271 million in one fiscal year. Expenditures haven’t caught up yet — they won’t for a year or two — but the trend is set unless fiscal 2026 awards rebound. Meanwhile, FAMU has finally built a partnership function, FSU is building hospitals, and Innovation Park has 7.3 acres left next to the only national lab in Florida. The question for local business is whether Tallahassee organizes to sell into this economy — lab space, contract research, construction, talent — or keeps treating the universities as a football schedule. When FSU publishes its fiscal 2026 award total this fall, the pipeline series will have the first read on whether the air pocket was a one-year event.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much research funding does Florida State University receive? FSU’s research expenditures reached $461 million in the latest Board of Governors reporting, up from $350 million in 2021. New sponsored awards were $415.7 million in fiscal 2024 and $271 million in fiscal 2025.
What is Innovation Park in Tallahassee? A 208-acre research park owned and operated by the Leon County Research and Development Authority, adjacent to the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. It has 17 buildings, roughly 1,900 jobs, and is home to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Is the MagLab a national laboratory? Yes. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, funded by the National Science Foundation and headquartered at FSU’s Innovation Park, is the only national laboratory in Florida.
Who is Marcus Burgess at FAMU? Marcus H. Burgess, Ed.D., is Florida A&M University’s first senior vice president of Enterprise Partnerships & Innovation, appointed by President Marva Johnson effective September 29, 2025, to expand FAMU’s corporate, philanthropic, governmental, and higher-education partnerships.
What is FSU Health? Florida State University’s health-care enterprise, launched in 2022. It includes an academic health center on the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare campus scheduled to open in 2026 and a planned hospital in Panama City Beach targeted for 2028, to be operated by TMH.
How do I get a technology commercialization grant in Leon County? The Leon County Research and Development Authority’s TechGrant competition awards up to $15,000 to new and expanding Leon County businesses for laboratory services, patent consultation, and research instrumentation. Details are at lcrda.org.
Methodology
The University Enterprise Pipeline assembles research expenditure and award data from the Florida Board of Governors (which relies on the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development survey), FSU’s Office of Research and Economic Impact reporting, and FAMU announcements; facility and employment figures from the Leon County Research and Development Authority and Innovation Park; and capital project timelines from university announcements. Note that FSU’s $461 million figure is a total HERD-basis research expenditure, while the $290.1 million external-only expenditure and the $415.7 million / $271 million award figures published in FSU’s economic impact report use different definitions and fiscal years; they are not directly comparable to each other. Fiscal years for Florida universities run July 1 to June 30. Innovation Park job and building counts are as published by the Authority and are not independently verified. Florida Authority Network will update all figures when the FY 2025 HERD survey and FSU’s FY 2026 award totals are released.
Sources and Resources
- Islander News / Florida Board of Governors, “Florida university research funding hits $3.24B,” March 20, 2026 — https://www.islandernews.com/news/education/florida-climbs-to-no-5-in-u-s-for-university-research-funding/article_a1fed99b-1cc5-44e9-b2c8-04bd5495169e.html
- Florida State University, Economic Impact report — https://economic-impact.fsu.edu/
- Florida State University, Office of Research — https://www.research.fsu.edu/
- FAMU News, “President Marva Johnson Appoints Marcus Burgess as SVP of Enterprise Partnerships & Innovation,” October 1, 2025 — https://news.famu.edu/2025/president-johnson-appoints-marcus-burgess-as-svp-of-enterprise-partnerships-and-innovation.php
- WCTV, “FAMU president introduces Marcus Burgess as senior vice president of innovation department,” October 2, 2025 — https://www.wctv.tv/2025/10/02/famu-president-introduces-marcus-burgess-senior-vice-president-innovation-department/
- FSU News, “Florida State University announces plan to build ‘FSU Health’ hospital in Panama City Beach,” March 26, 2025 — https://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2025/03/26/florida-state-university-announces-plan-to-build-fsu-health-hospital-in-panama-city-beach/
- Leon County Research and Development Authority, Economic Resources — https://lcrda.org/economic-resources/
- Innovation Park of Tallahassee — https://innovation-park.com/
- FSU Innovation Hub — https://www.innovation.fsu.edu/
- University of Florida, “Research spending reaches record $1.34 billion in fiscal year 2026,” September 2026 — https://news.ufl.edu/2026/09/2026-research-spending/
- NSF Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey — https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/higher-education-research-development/
Related coverage across the Florida Authority Network: FloridaTechnologyNews (university spinouts and research commercialization), FloridaMedicalNews (FSU Health and TMH), GainesvilleBusinessNews (UF research economy).
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