Figure sources

Each section below names the sources behind one figure in the plan and the limits of its data. Fuller notes on each source are on the sources and methods page.

Where Arkansas's research workforce is concentrated

Sources: Arkansas Research Expertise Database, extract of 11 October 2026 (current researcher records: active, marked confirmed or probable, and not tagged Formerly Arkansas, counted by primary institution; 10,384 in all). Institution locations from OpenAlex, except the National Center for Toxicological Research, which is placed at its campus in Jefferson (counts and location, JSON). Counties from the US Census Bureau via us-atlas 3.0.1. Rivers and lakes from Natural Earth. Relief from AWS Terrain Tiles.

The counts are database records, not a census of research staff, and they do not confirm who is employed today. Two-year colleges are not in the database. The database files Division of Agriculture researchers under UA Fayetteville, so that campus's count includes experiment-station and extension staff based elsewhere in the state. The profile counts are a separate measure from the corrected publication record.

Six major federal awards reach their scheduled end dates between April 2027 and January 2028

Sources: NIH IDeA awards in Arkansas (the three COBRE centers); NSF EPSCoR award records for Arkansas (DART, AR-NETWORK and AR-STRIDES); research assets inventory (MonArk and MUSiC). All award records were retrieved in October 2026.

The dates are the scheduled start and end dates in those records. The records do not show extensions granted after retrieval, annual funding schedules, or which staff, equipment and services the successor awards carry forward. NIH amounts are one fiscal year's award (FY2026), while NSF amounts are whole-award totals over periods of different length, so the figure does not measure an annual funding gap. The MonArk amount is the whole multi-state award, led by Montana State University, of which Arkansas is a partner. An end date marks when a continuity decision is due.

The continuity calendar: every expiring award paired with its advance decision date

Sources: plan decision register (decision dates and the plan's target effective date of 30 April 2028); Arkansas EPSCoR fact inventory (terms of NSF's transition supplement under Dear Colleague Letter NSF 24-114); end dates from NIH IDeA awards in Arkansas, NSF EPSCoR award records for Arkansas and the research assets inventory.

Where the register gives a month without a day, the figure places the decision at the end of that month. The supplement is open only to awards in their final year with an unspent balance under $1 million. DART's unspent balance does not appear in the public records used here, so the figure does not show whether DART qualifies.

Clear lines of authority: the steering committee votes, while staff and partners draft and review

Sources: the plan's chapters "Who decides" and "How we will know" (roles, scorecard recipients and timing); Arkansas EPSCoR jurisdiction record (the Secretary of Commerce approved the 2024 plan).

The roles shown are those the plan proposes for the Jurisdictional Steering Committee's bylaws, which the committee adopts. AEDC as co-chair and the Secretary of Commerce as approver are proposals; the committee also sets the annual date for delivering the scorecard.

The annual review cycle from initial project register to spring scorecard

Sources: plan action register (the interim register from January 2027, evidence and decision points); the plan's chapter "How we will know" (scorecard and refresh dates); Appendix C. Decision calendar (dates, owners and review conditions).

The dates are the plan's own schedule. The first full scorecard is proposed for March 2029, and the committee sets the annual delivery date to the Governor and the legislature, proposed as 31 March.

Campus and sector reach across Arkansas's seven growth areas

Sources: Arkansas Research Expertise Database, extract of 11 October 2026, counted through the researcher lens of the Arkansas research strengths dossier; area boundaries from the growth area and application definitions; institution locations from OpenAlex.

The counts are database records of engaged researchers, not a census, and they do not confirm who is employed today. Only institutions with at least five engaged researchers in an area appear. The database files Division of Agriculture researchers under UA Fayetteville, and two-year colleges are not covered. The research fields that assign a researcher to an area are ARA's own mapping.

Publication and author counts in the area figures

Sources: the audited 2021–2025 OpenAlex record of Arkansas articles and reviews (see the sources and methods page). Publication counts by area and primary subfield, distinct Arkansas authors and Division of Agriculture paper counts in Figures 1 and 6 and the food, crop, transportation, supply-chain, power and health figures are on the publication and author counts page.

Areas are defined by OpenAlex primary subfield. Author counts are OpenAlex author records with a retained Arkansas affiliation on the area's papers; one person can occasionally appear as two records. The Division of Agriculture count covers papers where an Arkansas author names the Division or one of its stations, centers or extension service, so it is a floor.