As officers of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation's executive committee, no one understands better than we do that the fiscal situation in Alaska is serious. We face a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, low oil prices and a sluggish international market. Our governor, Legislature and local policymakers are being asked to make the toughest decisions of their careers to mitigate the coming fiscal crisis and help steer Alaska through these troubled times.
The magnitude of the situation requires that they consider all options to help close that fiscal gap including measured cuts, new revenues and the use of the Permanent Fund earnings. There is no silver bullet solution, and we can't rely on oil to save us this time.
It may seem strange for us in the same breath to oppose the proposed cuts to the University of Alaska's budget, but that is the position we are taking. While we agree that spending cuts are necessary, they should be made not only with the immediate fiscal crisis in mind, but also the long-term impacts on Alaska's future. The university system is a key part of Alaska's economy and is crucial to our future. Crippling our universities will have serious impacts that will be difficult to undo.
Alaska's new economic future will be one of smaller revenues, diversified industries, specialized workforce, innovative technologies and sustainably harvested resources driven by a unified statewide vision for our future. All of these pieces rely in some part on work that is or will be done by the university system. In 2015, the universities secured nearly $150 million in non-state grant funding and have been awarded over $1.5 billion in grants since 2002. They have nearly 60 patent applications and 50 technology licenses for technologies developed through research conducted statewide. Those technologies have resulted in startups being created in industries such as unmanned drones and carbon fiber manufacturing. If we remove the university's ability to provide funding for the R&D that produces this kind of innovation and economic development, these opportunities end.
The university also hosts the Small Business Development Center. This organization serves 65 communities across the state and leverages every dollar in state funding with nearly $2.50 in other funds. For every $8,000 invested in SBDC, one full-time job is created in Alaska. In 2015 alone they helped launch more than 100 businesses. One recent budget proposal in the House zeroed out their funding completely.
It's not just about what the University of Alaska does for the state today that makes it so important, it's what it will need to do in the future that is crucial to our economic recovery. Alaska's economy will depend on a talented, well-trained workforce that can support new and existing businesses. Keeping our best and brightest professionals in Alaska will require us to train them in the skills they need to get the jobs that would otherwise have gone to outside candidates. Without our universities training the next generation of business leaders there is no hope for growth. At the same time, entrepreneurs, innovators and engineers need to continue to be produced to capitalize on the ingenuity and opportunities that will form the backbone of Alaska's future economy.
Bringing in outside dollars to produce high quality R&D such as the work on energy efficiency and micro-grid technology which has worldwide economic implications will be an even more important component of any future economic growth than it is now. By investing in developing new technologies today we lay the groundwork for our future prosperity. If we remove these facets of our university system, focusing only on producing students with no care for the economy into which we are throwing them we will find that not only are our businesses suffering but our best and brightest are leaving as well, compounding the problem.
When thinking about what cuts need to be made, we encourage the Legislature to not only consider the short-term budget impacts, but the long-term economic impacts of their decisions. We know that you are under enormous pressure to act now to balance the budget, but we encourage you to temper that with a vision for the future and consider what tools and resources we are going to need in the new economic reality. From the fur trade to the gold rush, from seafood to North Slope crude, Alaska has a long history of capitalizing on the natural resources that are so abundant here. We believe the next resource that will drive the state's economy forward won't be found in the ground or in the sea, but in the minds and talents of Alaskans across the state -- the ones whose potential will be unlocked by a strong, well-funded and future-focused university system.
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