Background

The Kansas City life sciences initiative was a product of the 1998 research retreat of the Civic Council Board of Directors. Interest in the life sciences and their role in Kansas City’s economy was stimulated by the decision of James and Virginia Stowers to build the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City. The Civic Council Board recognized the presence of several other Kansas City institutions that engaged in life sciences research and was interested in learning whether these assets could be leveraged with the Stowers investment into a significant life sciences effort. The Civic Council board members also were hopeful that support for the life sciences could be a factor in enhancing the region’s intellectual capital and strengthening its universities.

Another factor in the Civic Council Board’s interest in life sciences research was a commitment by the President and Congress to increase substantially the federal investment in research through the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. This commitment to double federal research funding created a new pool of grant funds into which new players in the life sciences research community could tap in the future.

Life Sciences Task Force

The first step in developing the strategy was the formation of the Life Sciences Task Force. The Task Force was developed in collaboration with the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) and included members of both organizations, as well as representatives of major academic and life sciences organizations in the region. The task force was charged with evaluating the community’s assets to determine whether there was a foundation on which to build a significant life sciences presence in Kansas City and, if there was a foundation on which to build, to advise on how to move forward.

The task force began its work on March 10, 1999, and over the following months undertook a detailed analysis of life sciences research in the region. The task force also traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, and to San Diego, California, to benchmark those communities’ efforts to build strong life sciences initiatives. In both cases, the communities and the universities had made the decision several years ago to build a strong life sciences research effort and had been successful in doing so through a strong public-private partnership.

The report of the Task Force was received by the two sponsoring organizations on October 22, 1999. The task force reported that in order to attain its vision of Kansas City as “…a nationally known center of established, world-class life sciences companies, private and academic research institutions, and emerging, entrepreneurial companies in a community recognized for its opportunity and attractive quality of life,” the community would have to do the following:

• Make a major financial investment in the local universities (UMKC/KU/KUMC)

• Build the physical and organizational support structure for life sciences entrepreneurs

• Develop, finance and commercialize intellectual products in Kansas City

• Attract the brightest scientific talent and the best, young entrepreneurial companies

That report recommended the creation of a Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute to coordinate the Kansas City life sciences strategy. The task force further recommended that Kansas City’s strategy initially focus on building research capacity through the collaboration of its major research institutions, with an emphasis on neurological disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, human development and aging, and infectious disease. These research areas were chosen because the community’s institutions already had sufficient researchers and grant funds on which to build additional research initiatives. The task force also recommended that attention be given to enhancing the region’s capacity in the enabling technologies of genomics, proteomics, information technology and bioinformatics, imaging, and the analytical sciences. The task force estimated that with an infusion of $300 million over a 10-year period in additional people, equipment and facilities, the region could reach a research expenditure level of $500 million per year, potentially putting the region in the top 10 for life sciences research nationally.

Business Plan

After reviewing the task force’s findings, the boards of the Civic Council and the KCADC supported the creation of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute (KCALSI), and commissioned the KCALSI with the task of preparing a detailed business plan, based on the recommendations of the original task force. The business plan was submitted to the sponsoring organizations in September 2000.

The business plan called for the KCALSI to “build a critical mass in life sciences research in Kansas City,” and affirmed the original target of $500 million in annual research expenditures at the end of ten years.

Decisio LLC was retained to apply the System Dynamics Impact Model method of evaluation to determine how to maximize the community investment. This model, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uses a portfolio approach to decision making through the analysis of risk versus economic return. This evaluation of potential investments and returns suggested that research infrastructure investments should be targeted at $50 million for enabling technologies, $125 million for facilities and $125 million for research and supporting personnel in order to achieve the long-term target of $500 million in annual research expenditures.

The business plan also included an economic impact analysis, prepared by the Mid-America Regional Council and calibrated to reflect economic factors specific to Kansas City. This impact statement projected that if the recommended investments were made, the incremental economic impact at the end of 10 years would be 14,562 jobs created, $654.3 million of annual Gross Regional Product would be created, and $1.1 billion in annual Gross Regional Sales would be generated. The positive annual impact on real disposable personal income was projected at $436.7 million. These outcomes exceeded those in the economic impact statement for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.

The KCALSI asked the boards of the KCADC and the Civic Council to support and assist the KCALSI board in meeting the following fundraising commitments:

1. $1 million annually for the base operating costs of the KCALSI, plus the cost of any operating programs approve by the KCALSI Board of Directors;

2. $300 million within 10 years for building and equipping facilities, the construction of which was estimated at $125 million, for hiring researchers and support personnel, at a cost of $125 million, and for funding the implementation of supporting technologies, projected at $50 million.

At the time of the report, the KCADC and the Civic Council appointed the KCALSI board members. The KCALSI was a 501c4 organization. Subsequent to the approval of the business plan, the decision was made to phase out the appointment authority of the two sponsoring organizations and to create a 501c3 charitable institution, the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute.  A separate 501c4, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute Association (KCALSIA) also was formed to serve as the lobbying, economic development and marketing arm of the KCALSI. This ensured that all functions that were not “charitable” in their nature were funded outside of the Foundation and ensured that contributions to the foundation could be tax deductible.

The Civic Council leads much of the advocacy on behalf of the KCALSIA, with support from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Although economic development was a long-term goal of the life sciences initiative, the KCALSI’s primary function was to be the development of the community’s research capacity. Thus, economic development activities are led by the KCADC, with support when needed from the KCALSIA.

KCALSI’s charter key stakeholder institutions included:

• Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics
• Midwest Research Institute
• Saint Luke’s Hospital
• Stowers Institute for Medical Research
• Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
• University of Kansas
• University of Kansas Medical Center
• University of Missouri-Kansas City

Two additional stakeholder institutions were added in 2005:

• Kansas State University
• University of Missouri - Columbia

Founded jointly by the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City and the Kansas City Area Development Council, the Institute is charged with making this community-wide vision a reality. To this end, KCALSI serves as the coordinating body for the region’s life sciences research initiatives, specifically as facilitator, matchmaker and a potential funding organization.