State Gains 5,700 Jobs in 2006, Unemployment Rate Falls

Rhode Island's economy showed stronger than anticipated gains in 2006, according to two reports released recently by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. The reports show that the state's unemployment rate dipped from December's 5.1 percent to 4.7 percent in January and that Rhode Island saw a gain of 5,700 private sector jobs. [ more ] [ read the Providence Business News story ]

Study Cites Rhode Island as Top Five Movers in Economic Transformation

Rhode Island was recently cited as one of the "Top Five Movers" in economic transformation in the 2007 State New Economy Index, a report published by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Rhode Island's economic transformation ranking moved from 23rd to 15th. The upward move was attributed to Rhode Island's focus on programs and policies that promote innovation and growth in key sectors. [ more ]

Come Meet Rhode Island's Next Generation of Scientists, Engineers and Inventors...and Be Amazed by What They Can Do!

Don't miss the 2007 FIRST Vex Challenge tournament on March 31, when 35 student teams from across the state will put robots they designed and built to the test in a heart thumping, high energy head-to-head competition.

In 2006, the Business Innovation Factory launched a program to bring Dean Kamen's FIRST's Vex Challenge to Rhode Island's high schools. With support from the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council, New England Institute of Technology and the Rhode Island Tech Collective, Rhode Island is the first state to offer Vex statewide. The FIRST Vex Challenge Tournament will be held at New England Institute of Technology's Automotive Center in Warwick, Rhode Island. This event is free and open to the public. [ more ]

Innovator Spotlight: Neurotech USA

In the age of advanced medicine, it is amazing that some of the most debilitating retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and atrophic age-related macular degeneration have experienced virtually no progress to date. Now, one Rhode Island company has the technology and the talent to turn around this stalemate. [ more ]

BIF LEARN: Frans Johansson and Innovation at the Intersection of Unexpected Things

• When: April 3, 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
• Where: Business Innovation Factory, 315 Iron Horse Way, Suite 101, Providence.
• Contact: Tori Drew, tori@businessinnovationfactory.com

Join Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect, for an exciting conversation about the "intersection" where different fields, cultures and industries can create an explosion of ideas. Participants will explore the core concepts of what makes innovation effective and the real challenges of taking an idea from concept to reality. [ register now ]

Rhode Island to Participate in BIO 2007

The state's biotech industry will get to strut its stuff at the 14th annual Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) International Convention, held this May in Boston. Thanks to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, which rented space at the event for the various biotech industry leaders, various organizations from the state will share a pavilion at BIO, along with all six New England states. [ more ]

Citizens Bank Loan Will Create 20 Jobs

Citizens Bank, along with Governor Carcieri and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, has awarded Residential Properties a Job Bank loan for $400,000 to create 20 new jobs. The loan requires borrowers to create one full-time job for every $40,000 borrowed. RIEDC conducts audits to ensure borrowers fulfill this commitment. [ more ]

A New Voice for the Latino Business Community

The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation is proud to introduce the newest member of the Every Company Counts team, Claudia Cardozo-Tarullo, as a Small Business Account Executive. Tarullo is creating a Spanish webpage, located on the Every Company Counts website and Spanish eNewsletter. [ more ]

Providence Named to Dozen Distinctive Destinations

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the country's largest private, nonprofit preservation organization, recently named Providence to its annual list of "unique and lovingly preserved communities in the United States." [ more ]

Largest Marina in New England Planned for Aquidneck Island

O'Neil Properties Group, a Pennsylvania-based development company, announced plans for the Newport Club, a 1,495-slip marina with a yacht club, retail shops, restaurants, condos and townhouses to be located on the west side of Aquidneck Island. [ more ]

Okeanos Explorer May Call R.I. Home Port

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that its newest ship, a vessel built for extensive at-sea research, is considering Quonset and Davisville as a port for the Okeanos Expolorer. [ more ]

New Urban Marketplace Finds Home in Providence

Organizers of Boston's South End Open Market are bringing their concept to downtown Providence, where retailers hope to cash in on the anticipated jolt of activity their weekly events will bring. [ more ]

Rhode Island's Close-Knit Community Attracts and Retains Industrial Designers

Rhode Island industrial designers are finding that the Ocean State is the best place for designers to produce and sell a new product. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Rhode Island had the second highest concentration of industrial designers in 2005. [ more ]

EpiVax Receives $368K Federal Grant

Rhode Island Biotechnology company EpiVax has been granted $368,157 in federal monies to reengineer botulinum toxin. Most widely known as "Botox," this protein is also used as a revolutionary therapeutic for Parkinson's Disease and Cerebral Palsy. [ more ]

Bryant and Town of Smithfield Form Education Partnership

In an effort to reach the sometimes unattainable standards of the No Child Left Behind Act and to help students achieve more Advanced Placement credits, Bryant University and the town of Smithfield are collaborating to meet the town's educational needs. [ more ]

Rhode Island Tourism Packaging Workshop

• When: March 8, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
• Where: The International Tennis Hall of Fame, Bellevue Ave., Newport.
• Contact: Katrina White, 401-278-9100, kwhite@riedc.com, www.visitrhodeisland.com

Internationally recognized packaging expert Joe Veneto, the Opportunity Guy, outlines his turn-key formula for travel packaging success in the leisure, group and niche markets.

Rhode Island Business Plan Competition Presentation Workshop

• When: March 14, 5–7 p.m.
• Where: Offices of Brown Rudnick, 121 South Main St., Providence.
• Contact: Peter Lowy, 781-326-9980

Two of Rhode Island's top emerging entrepreneurs will share insights on how to present a business plan that can potentially raise millions of dollars from investors during this free workshop.

PTAC Training Session

• When: March 15, 8:30–11 a.m.
• Where: Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, 315 Iron Horse Way, Suite 101, Providence.
• Contact: Louis Francis, 401-278-9100, lfrancis@riedc.com, riptac.ecenterdirect.com

This month's training session focuses on SBA Small Business Certifications. One-on-one counseling is available by appointment.