Feb. 23, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Augustana University.

From mentoring programs and food insecurity to student safety and affordable housing, the Augustana Research Institute, or ARI, has helped businesses and organizations in the Sioux Falls area better understand and serve the community.

“I think people want to serve and they want to do good and make the best decisions that they can. But the more we learn, and especially the more we learn from the people that we’re hoping to serve, the better we can meet the needs that people actually have and the better we can meet them in a way that makes everyone feel good about it,” said Suzanne Smith, assistant vice president for enterprise data analytics and ARI.

One of the organizations ARI has worked with is Sioux Falls Thrive, and on its member board of directors is Lisa Beacom. The Beacom Research Fellows Program was formed out of this community-based partnership.

“There are so many good people in Sioux Falls. A lot of people are very generous with their time, their talent, their treasure — it is an amazing community, and you don’t see that in many other places,” Beacom said. “It’s nice to be able to help these organizations help others.”

Augustana announced today a donation from Beacom, and her husband, Miles, that will allow the university to create a two-year pilot of the Beacom Research Fellows Program — a program of the ARI within the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the university.

The Beacom Research Fellows Program will provide opportunities to organizations with limited resources to access research, analytics and field-specific expertise in operations and data management at no cost. Eligible organizations include government agencies, nonprofit organizations and social entrepreneurs that strive to improve the quality of life in Sioux Falls.

“I think it really ties to the impact that it’s going to have and the people that it will help,” Miles Beacom said when asked about giving back to the community. “These organizations do an incredible job, but it (research) shines a light on where they could improve.”

Often, nonprofits or service organizations are “so deep into their daily routines that they often do not have the time or the opportunity to take a step back and look for those areas that they could improve on,” said Miles Beacom, CEO of PREMIER Bankcard.

“That is where this research program will really help out.”

A gift that keeps giving

Not only will the Beacoms be giving back to mission-driven organizations, but also their donation will provide students the opportunity to participate in experiential learning, which touches the core of what it means to earn an Augustana education. Right now, Augustana students are applying to become Beacom Research Fellows.

“We’ll partner a fellow with an organization who’s been selected for the program,” Smith said. “It’s a one-semester fellowship with the option to extend it to a second semester. For these students, it’s an awesome opportunity to get their hands dirty doing real applied research but to also get to know the Sioux Falls community and an organization really deeply.”

Bringing in students to help with research has always been a part of the ARI model, but the Beacom Research Fellows Program will allow the institute to expand upon that exponentially and institutionalize that role for students, Smith said.

“It lays the groundwork for them as they think about what happens after Augustana, whether that’s a career here in Sioux Falls or that’s further training to do this kind of research professionally,” she said.

Experts looking to other experts

While the ARI knows what kind of organizations it would like to work with to conduct research, the institute needs help connecting with them. So it turned to one of the best “connectors” in the community: Sioux Empire United Way.

“United Way does a great job in Sioux Falls of bringing nonprofit organizations together. They also get to know funded agencies really well and will play an important role in helping us determine who is in a good position right now to make the most of partnering with the Beacom Research Fellows Program,” Smith said.

Miles and Lisa Beacom are longtime United Way supporters and passionate about the organization and the community as a whole, said Chrisitna Riss, Sioux Empire United Way community impact director.

“They’re always looking for opportunities to have an even greater impact on our community,” she said. “This is one of those examples where they saw an opportunity with Augustana, and with their in-depth understanding of United Way’s role in working with the nonprofit community, brought the two together.”

Partner organizations are selected through a competitive application process based on the potential for the Beacom Research Fellows Program to contribute to the organizations’ mission and the Sioux Falls community. There’s the potential for ARI to complete up to four projects a year, with the first set of applications due March 1. There likely will be another request for applications in the fall.

For information on the Beacom Research Fellows Program, please visit augie.edu/BeacomFellows.