The announcement that the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility will be located on the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan is great news. Kansas and its residents will benefit in many ways. It is a development that will pay dividends for years to come.

Obviously, KSU and Manhattan will be the primary beneficiaries, but the entire state and its people are winners.

This being the case, a number of individuals will be quick to suggest or outright claim they were primarily responsible for Kansas winning the intense competition for this $450 million laboratory and its sure-to-come and varied spin-off companies.

The fact is, winning the NBAF competition is a result of an approximately nine-year effort to get Kansas leaders, educators and politicians to realize the importance of the state attracting research firms and research grants. Various surveys and reports showed how far down the ladder Kansas was in attracting research dollars.

Not in order of importance — and there may be some misplaced sequences of actions — but the following are some of the most significant events that eventually helped bring NBAF to Kansas.

In 2002, state Sen. David Kerr and Rep. Kent Glasscock spearheaded a plan to have the entire Kansas Legislature travel to KSU for a half-day gathering to focus on the importance of research and research dollars to Kansas; 110 lawmakers made the trip.

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts was invited to make the pitch for more research dollars because he had noted how poorly Kansas was doing in that area. In 2007, he addressed a joint session of legislators in Topeka with the same message.

Others speaking at the unique and special 2002 gathering at K-State included Dr. Michael Welch, who then was at the Kansas University Medical Center; Clay Blair, representing the Kansas Board of Regents; and KSU President Jon Wefald, along with representatives of Kansas University and Wichita State University.

Welch is a superb speaker who has the ability to enthuse and inspire his audiences. He had the record and expertise to merit the high respect of his listeners. He was a tremendous asset for the medical school and the state. KU, Strong Hall, the regents and state officeholders all should have made a far stronger effort to keep him rather than lose him to Chicago.

Blair, who then was chairman of the Board of Regents, along with Bill Docking, who succeeded Blair as regents’ chairman, stressed the importance of research, and, with the help of state legislators, the University Research Development and Enhancement Corp. was created. This resulted in the construction of the Kansas Life Sciences Innovation Center at KU Medical Center, the Food Safety and Security Research Facility at KSU and the Engineering Complex Expansion at Wichita State University.

The meeting of state legislators and the message that was delivered, along with the authorization of what has become KSU’s Pat Roberts Hall, in which the food safety and security research facility are located, were two of the building blocks that eventually played a significant role in Kansas being able to make an impressive and winning bid for the NBAF.

Next came the creation of the Kansas Bioscience Authority and the funding plan that made this authority unique in the country. This new authority triggered great interest in the importance of the bioscience business.

Rep. Kenny Wilk and Sen. Nick Jordan designed this program with the strong help of Blair.

Blair did an exceptional job of leading the KBA, and when Bill Duncan of the Kansas City Life Sciences group alerted Kansas and Missouri officials about the possibility of the Plum Island research complex being closed and moved, Blair had the KBA swing into action and take a leadership role to make sure Kansas would make a powerful bid for the project.

Wilk and Jordan devised a plan whereby the KBA could acquire sizable funding based on the number of jobs it created. Rep. Melvin Neufeld played a significant role in getting legislative approval for this funding plan, as well as other necessary funding.

Kansas suggested two sites for this facility: the KSU/Manhattan location and one at Leavenworth/Fort Leavenworth.

The Biosecurity Research Institute, a level 3 research facility housed in Pat Roberts Hall, was ready for use, meaning that part of the NBAF research could be moved rather quickly to the KSU site. This turned out to be a major advantage for the Kansas bid.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was quick with her support of the Kansas efforts, and, as one state legislator said, “she did everything we asked of her.” Roberts frequently spoke on behalf of the move to Kansas and kept a close eye on developments in Washington.

Wefald never let up in his promotion of the KSU site, and he had the excellent assistance of Ron Trewyn, KSU vice president for research.

Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson headed a group of Kansans who pledged their support of the project.

Kansas will be expected to pick up a significant portion of the cost of NBAF, but fortunately, those who put together the legislation that created the Kansas Bioscience Authority built in a system whereby the KBA would have close to $500 million to spend on attracting new bioscience-based businesses to the state, as well as helping existing businesses to grow.

The Wilk-Jordan plan, assisted by Neufeld, will provide the money, or a large portion of the funds, needed to pay for Kansas’ share of the NBAF project. The funding mechanism is in place — if it is not messed up by others trying to get a piece of the money pie.

This eight- to nine-year focus on the importance of research and bioscience projects, the actions of Blair and Docking, with the assistance of then-Regents President Kim Wilcox, the special meeting of state legislators in Manhattan, the excellent, enthusiastic and stimulating endorsement of Welch, the creation of the KBA, URDEC and the help of such people as Neufeld, the governor, Roberts and the KSU team of Wefald and Trewyn and many others all played a significant role in Kansas landing the massive and important NBAF project.

The impetus that started in 2000 and 2001 eventually paid off in 2008.

This should serve as an excellent example of the importance of vision, aiming high and the willingness to make bold moves.

There were those in 2000 and 2001, such as Welch, Wilk, Jordan, Blair and others who had dreams of what could be accomplished. Unfortunately, there seems to be a shortage of such individuals these days, at least in those positions where such thinking is a necessity if the state is to move forward.