REACH NC is a searchable portal that connects people inside and outside of academia to over 10,000 researcher profiles from 19 North Carolina higher education institutions. It aims to increase transparency of research expertise in North Carolina and enable more efficient matching of experts for collaborative opportunities. The portal contains researcher descriptions and contact information, and allows filtering by keywords, institution, and other categories. REACH NC has helped match experts for economic development projects and recruitment efforts.

1. Connecting research and economic
development
David Knowles, UNC Chapel Hill
on behalf of
Dr. Sharlini Sankaran, Executive Director
sharlini@reachnc.org; (919) 445-9634
www.reachnc.org
@reachnchub 1

2. How do you find and connect to
an expert within North Carolina?
“For years, the cycle from the call to the
connection took a number of phone calls to
deans, department chairs, professors and
administration to ascertain the best match for
the inquirer. These calls could span over
several days to find the right expert…”
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- Ruthann Cage,
Economic Developer, East Carolina University

3. 3
The Solution: REACH NC
• A searchable statewide portal that allows
North Carolina to tap into its vast pool of
experts and resources.
• Allows those inside and outside academia to
access researcher expertise and assets easily.
• Makes visible more than 10,000 researcher
profiles from 19 North Carolina higher
education and research institutions.
KEY GOALS
• Increase transparency and visibility of research
expertise across North Carolina.
• Enable more efficient and effective location of
experts for collaborative opportunities.

4. REACH NC: experts at your fingertips
• Over 10,200 research experts representing 19 NC
institutions – largest, most comprehensive such tool.
• Over 1,600 assets and resources and growing.

5. A partnership of universities, non-profits
& economic development agencies
5

6. www.reachnc.org

7. 7
Drill down for details
on expert activity in
several categories.
Search by concept
or name, or insert
paragraphs from
other sources to
find relevant experts
(Full Text search).
See visualizations
of expert’s research
trends over time
and network of
collaborators.
1. Experts search - Typical Expert Profile Page

8. See descriptions,
locations, and
contact info.
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2. REACH NC Resource Finder
Search by
one or more
institutions
• Launched June 24, 2014; first searchable statewide resource finder
of its kind.
• Contains over 1,600 assets from six participating institutions: UNC
Chapel Hill, Duke, ECU, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, NC A&T.
• More institutions in process of joining in coming months.

9. A useful resource for NC’s
Economic development community
9
REACH NC short video

10. A few accomplishments:
• 2013 University Economic Developers
Association (UEDA) national Award of
Excellence in Leadership & Collaboration.
• Provided key data, assistance, and
resources in several large grants including
UNC’s successful $54.6 million NIH Clinical
and Translational Science Award (CTSA).
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• Successfully matched experts to several economic development
projects – including biotechnology, healthcare, military/
defense, engineering, and energy projects.
• Provided information on expertise and resources for several
economic development recruitment efforts.

11. How can we help you?
11
Sharlini Sankaran, Executive Director
919.445.9634
sharlini@reachnc.org
Monica Schledorn, Program Coordinator
919.445.0478
mrschled@reachnc.org
@reachnchub
www.reachnc.org