Following Successful First Year, R.I. Science and Technology Advisory Council Releases 2007 Recommendations
January 17, 2007 | Print this page | Share This |
State leaders urged to stay focused on innovation and invest in forward-looking programs
After a successful year in 2006, The Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC) today released its 2007 recommendations for actions the state's leadership can take to 1) support Rhode Island's research and development activity; 2) promote collaboration across institutions; 3) encourage entrepreneurship and new company creation; and 4) enable all organizations, public and private, to innovate.
Today's report also included an update on STAC's current activities and outcomes of STAC's 2006 recommendations.
STAC was created in 2005 and sustained by legislative statute in 2006 with the mission to make innovation central to the state's leadership agenda. In this capacity, STAC aims to assist Rhode Island's leadership in creating an innovation economy that will grow higher wage jobs and address critical needs in areas such as healthcare, education and public safety.
In 2006, STAC released an initial set of recommendations for actions to support and grow an innovation economy in Rhode Island. These recommendations were well received and strongly supported by Governor Donald L. Carcieri and leadership in the Rhode Island General Assembly.
Successes in 2006 included:
- Creation of the Rhode Island Research Alliance, a platform for promoting collaboration, maximizing state and federal investment in research, and enhancing the state's R&D-related economic development opportunities.
- Launch of a new funding program to stimulate collaborative research projects across the state's research institutions. Award recipients include academic and industrial scientists pursuing projects in medicine, engineering, chemistry, biology, oceanography and environmental science. Winning teams include scientists from Afferent Corporation, Applied Science Associates, Inc., Bay Computer Associates, Brown University, Hasbro Children's Hospital, Ion Signature Technology, Providence VA Medical Center, Rhode Island College, Rhode Island Hospital, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island State Crime Lab, Salve Regina University, SubChem Systems, WET Labs, Inc., and the University of Rhode Island.
- Creation of a blue ribbon commission to put forth a plan for strengthening research at the University of Rhode Island.
- Creation of a new tax credit for investors in Rhode Island-based innovation companies
- Support for the state's bid to become the first state in the country with a border-to-border wireless network.
- Launch of a statewide program that offered each of the state's high schools an opportunity to participate in Dean Kamen's nationally recognized FIRST Vex robotics program. Rhode Island is the first state in the country to offer the Vex program statewide.
The purpose of STAC's 2007 recommendations is to build upon progress made in 2006 and accelerate Rhode Island's transition toward an innovation economy.
"Growing an innovation economy and creating a more prosperous Rhode Island depends on our ability to continue to make investments year after year, and investments with both short and long-term potential," says STAC co-chair Dr. Jeff Seemann, Dean of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. "This strategy will enable us to harvest immediate benefits while sowing the seeds for future growth."
Recommendations for 2007 are as follows:
Recommendation 1—Continue Support for the Rhode Island Research Alliance and its Direct Investment in Collaborative Research
Rhode Island is especially well positioned to capitalize on research endeavors that leverage public/private partnership and cross-organizational collaboration. STAC believes the best R&D investment for Rhode Island is in efforts that create stronger connections across the state's public and private research institutions.
A strong collaborative research alliance will create a powerful platform for maximizing state research investment, strengthening Rhode Island's ability to compete for and attract substantial federal research dollars, and building a platform for the discovery and implementation of new ideas and technologies.
STAC recommends that Rhode Island's leadership support STAC's Research Alliance and its direct investment in collaborative research by renewing the program's $1.5 million in funding.
Recommendation 2—Support the statewide build out of the Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs) border-to-border broadband wireless network
Now in the final stages of its piloting phase, the Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs) is preparing for state-wide rollout. RI-WINs will make Rhode Island the first state in the country with a border-to-border broadband wireless network.
RI-WINs is focused on building a platform for wireless innovation that powers new solutions in areas like healthcare, education, public safety and government services. RI-WINs is the only wireless effort, public or private, committed to building a statewide network to promote innovation and support economic development in every Rhode Island community.
STAC recommends that state leadership support the RI-WINs request for a state credit enhancement for $28 million of private sector debt to finance statewide rollout.
Recommendation 3—Launch the Rhode Island IT and Digital Media Center as an Incubator for New Company Creation and Growth
An exciting opportunity is emerging at the intersection of traditional information technology, digital design and interactive media industries. This new sector is creating innovative new products and services and is poised to create thousands of new high-wage jobs in Rhode Island.
STAC recommends that state leadership support an annual $600,000 budget request to launch and operate the Rhode Island IT and Digital Media Center.
The center will provide serial entrepreneurs with subsidized space, growth programs and support, and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs to learn from. The center will serve as the keystone in building a culture of information technology and digital media entrepreneurship and provide community building and programming that fosters the strategic growth of Rhode Island's information technology and digital media sector.
An annual state investment of $600,000 in the project will enable the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation to open the Rhode Island IT and Digital Media Center in Providence next to its new offices in the American Locomotive Works development. This investment will enable the EDC to exercise an option on a 30,000-square-foot center to house five to 10 growth companies at any point in time and offer entrepreneurial support programs and activities to innovators across the state. Operating and program costs will be covered by program and space fees.
By creating a nexus of activity and opportunity for professional growth, the center will help retain the state's IT and digital media entrepreneurs and attract new innovation talent. By attracting new talent, the center will serve as a beacon for out-of-state companies, entrepreneurs, and professionals looking to relocate existing ventures or launch new initiatives. Most importantly, the center will raise Rhode Island's
profile as a regional and national center for IT and digital media entrepreneurship and innovation, spur new company creation, and grow more, higher wage jobs for Rhode Islanders.
Recommendation 4—Create a New Vision for the Workforce Development Requirements of a 21st Century Rhode Island Innovation Economy
Educating and training Rhode Island's citizens to be a 21st century workforce is perhaps the single most important requirement for any innovation economy. It is about helping all Rhode Islanders get the education, skills and experience that will make them competitive for higher wage jobs and allow them to thrive in an economy where all jobs will require well trained and well educated workers.
In 2007, STAC will partner with Rhode Island's workforce development advocates and program providers to create a new vision for what a 21st century innovation economy workforce should look like. STAC will partner with these leaders to put forth a set of recommendations and strategies for creating workforce development programs and opportunities to help all Rhode Islanders succeed. This report will guide future funding recommendations by STAC.
Recommendation 5—Continued support for STAC
Creating an innovation economy in Rhode Island will require a deliberate, collaborative and sustained effort from Rhode Island's government, business, academic and community leadership. It will also take time.
Together with Rhode Island's leaders, STAC intends to build upon its recommendations each year. Continued support of STAC will accelerate the state's evolution towards an innovation economy that is nationally and globally competitive and better prepared to meet the needs of its citizens.
STAC recommends that the state renew its $100,000 investment in STAC to support council operations in FY08.
This investment will enable STAC to implement current recommendations and work towards a follow-up set of recommendations that build upon our success.
"We believe that the tools to grow and support a vibrant innovation economy are well within Rhode Island's reach," says STAC co-chair Dr. Clyde Briant, Vice President for Research at Brown University. "STAC's 2007 recommendations aren't able to address every issue and factor affecting Rhode Island's ability to prosper in the 21st Century, but they do something critical. The recommendations promote education and research, which in turn create the ideas, inspiration and building blocks that drive an innovation economy that benefits all citizens of Rhode Island."
For more information, visit www.stac.ri.gov.
