We are industry leaders, organizations, partners and local officials committed to the economic success and prosperity of the Indiana Uplands.

In 2014, the Strategic Plan for Economic and Community Prosperity in Southwest Central Indiana was released for the purpose of fostering new growth and capitalizing on existing assets in the region. In 2016, Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded three grants totaling $42 million to our partner organizations to fund a number of regional development initiatives from the strategic plan. 

Partner Organizations

Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI): The mission of ROI is to advance economic and community prosperity in the 11 counties of the Indiana Uplands. Through an initial $25,870,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., ROI is growing potential and possibility through a focus on advanced industry sectors, regionalism, transformative school and workforce redesign, and placemaking strategies.

Applied Research Insitute (formerly called the Indiana Innovation Insitute, IN3): Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) received a $16,225,000 Lilly Endowment grant to establish the Applied Research Institute to provide more efficient technology transfer and commercialization for Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, government, industry and research universities. Learn More »

Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement: The Center for Rural Engagement connects the resources of IU Bloomington with rural Indiana communities. The goal of the center is to improve the lives and opportunities of Hoosiers by working with partners to discover and deploy evidence-based, data-informed and scalable solutions to common challenges facing rural communities.

In 2015, IU received a Lilly Endowment Inc. grant of $122,600 to establish the Center. In 2018, Lilly Endowment awarded a $10 million grant to the Center, with IU funding an additional $2.5 million. Learn More »