NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee ranks eighth in the country for the volume of federal grants its university research centers receive, but those dollars are not paying off in terms of new products, companies and jobs.

The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/LIPE2y) statistics from the Kauffman Foundation show the state ranks 41st in the number of jobs created from research dollars.

But several programs around the state are trying to make sure that promising ideas don't languish for lack of money and resources to develop them.

The newest is an initiative by the state-funded Tennessee Technology Development Corp. called Launch Tennessee.

Launch Tennessee is expected to be mostly in place by September.

Corporation President and CEO Brad Smith said the goal of the program is to "connect capital with technology and entrepreneurs."