President of Washington, D.C.-based think tank outlines Rhode Island's standing in national ranking of economic transformation
April 25, 2007 | Print this page | Share This | Email this page
President of Washington, D.C.-based think tank outlines Rhode Island's standing in national ranking of economic transformation
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) president Robert Atkinson presented results from the 2007 State New Economy Index, a report recently published by ITIF and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, at the April 25 meeting of the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council. (STAC).
The Kauffman Foundation / ITIF Index contained state-by-state analysis of how state economies are transitioning away from economic development strategies that focus on big company relocations toward strategies that focus on the creation and retention of high-wage jobs in growth industries. The report cited Rhode Island as one of the "Top Five Movers" in economic transformation.
The Index used 26 indicators to rank each state on how their economies are structured and how they operate to compete regionally and globally. The core ranking examined the degree to which state economies are knowledge-based, globalized, entrepreneurial, information technology-driven and innovation-based.
In the 2002 Index, Rhode Island was ranked 23rd overall nationally. In the 2007 Index, the Ocean State's national ranking moved up to 15th in the nation.
According to the Index, Rhode Island:
- Ranked 2nd in the nation for Industry Investment and Research & Development (industry-performed research and development as a percentage of total worker earnings);
- Ranked 3rd in the nation for the immigration of knowledge worker (average educational attainment of recent migrants from abroad);
- Ranked 5th in the nation for scientists and engineers as a percentage of the workforce;
- Ranked 6th in the nation for the percentage of jobs held by managers, professionals and technicians as a share of the total workforce;
- Ranked 7th in the nation for foreign direct investment (the percentage of each state's workforce employed by foreign companies);
- Ranked 19th in the nation for "Gazelle Jobs" (firms with annual sales revenue that has grown 20 percent or more for four straight years) as a share of total employment.
STAC is viewed as an important driver of Rhode Island's ranking improvement. Since its formation, STAC is credited with creating 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; launching a new funding program to stimulate collaborative research projects across the state's research institutions; creating a commission to put forth a plan for strengthening research at the University of Rhode Island; and creating a new tax credit for investors in Rhode Island-based innovation companies.
Rhode Island's bid to become to become the first state in the country with a border-to-border broadband wireless network has also brought attention to the state's commitment to building and innovation infrastructure. The Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs), a project of the non-profit Business Innovation Factory, is focused on building a platform for wireless innovation that powers new solutions in areas like healthcare, education, public safety and government services.
Now in the final stages of its piloting phase, RI-WINs is preparing for state-wide rollout. (www.businessinnovationfactory.com/ri-wins)
Rhode Island leadership also ushered in a one of the most sweeping pro-growth tax reform packages seen in any state in recent years. In 2006, The Wall Street Journal chronicled Rhode Island's tax package in its editorial pages. In its analysis, the Journal celebrated the bi-partisan flavor of the tax relief package and heralding the leadership's ability to so swiftly improve the state's tax competitiveness ranking.
"Rhode Island's improvement in national rankings shows that the work of organizations like STAC and state leadership's bi-partisan commitment to innovation is starting to pay off," says STAC co-chair Jeff Seemann. Seemann is Dean, College of the Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. "We are thrilled to have Rob Atkinson in Rhode Island to present, in greater detail, how Rhode Island measures up when it comes to innovation and economic transformation. I am confident that his presentation will give us more food for thought as we move forward."
Other agenda items for the STAC meeting include a discussion of STAC's 2007 recommendations and the appointment of the chairperson of the University of Rhode Island Commission on Innovation. The commission is charged with proposing specific actions and recommendations to strengthen URI's position as a nationally competitive public research university.
