Collaborative adds two new topics to research projects: workforce and infrastructure

THE COLLEGE and University Research Collaborative, a two-year venture funded by the state of Rhode Island and the nonprofit Rhode Island Foundation, provides data that policymakers can use to form economic development initiatives. Two new topics, workforce and infrastucture, have been added as research projects.
THE COLLEGE and University Research Collaborative, a two-year venture funded by the state of Rhode Island and the nonprofit Rhode Island Foundation, provides data that policymakers can use to form economic development initiatives. Two new topics, workforce and infrastucture, have been added as research projects.

PROVIDENCE – Two new topics, workforce and infrastructure, have been added as the College and University Research Collaborative jumpstarts 12 research projects in Rhode Island.
“What we learned in Year One is: We have a lot of people who want to participate, and providing different types of research gives people more of a chance to participate,” said Amber Caulkins, program director for the collaborative.
The Collaborative is a statewide public/private partnership of Rhode Island’s 11 colleges and universities that links public policy and academic research. The data that researchers develop is intended to serve as an evidence-based foundation for policymakers as they develop economic-development initiatives.
The two-year pilot program, which was launched and funded by the state and the Rhode Island Foundation in 2013, originally covered the arts and culture economy, manufacturing and regional competitiveness. The latter two research topics are also being addressed in the latest round of research, Caulkins said.
While arts and the culture economy is not a topic covered right now, it remains an area for further research, Caulkins said.
Research began in November and results will be produced between January and March, Caulkins said. Colleges and universities are collaborating on 12 research topics across the four topical areas. They include four workforce topics; one on manufacturing; four on regional competitiveness and three on infrastructure.
The topics and schools researching them are:

  • For the workforce:
    University of Rhode Island: Examining the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for current and emerging jobs in Rhode Island;
    URI: The importance of workplace flexibility to a robust Rhode Island economy;
    Brown University: Labor market mismatch and the Great Recession in Rhode Island;
    Bryant University: Examining Rhode Island’s educational and workforce development systems and how they align with current and emerging job openings.
  • For manufacturing:
    New England Institute of Technology and Rhode Island School of Design: Developing an inventory database of maker-related assets in Rhode Island.
  • For regional competitiveness:
    Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University and Bryant: Strategies for a competitive Rhode Island;
    URI: Family leave policy in the United States and its utilization in Rhode Island;
    Providence College: State vs. federal exchanges – what does this mean for Rhode Island’s economy?
    URI: Examining the economic impact of the Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Health Care Act on the nation, and implications for Rhode Island.
  • For infrastructure:
    Roger Williams: How do other states fund their infrastructure development and maintenance, and how do these models compare to Rhode Island’s funding structure? How have funding mechanisms changed over time?;
    Roger Williams: Addressing the legal and statutory issues in order to implement public/private partnerships in the state of Rhode Island;
    Johnson & Wales University: Examining transportation trends of millennials and migration of millennials in Rhode Island, and evaluating the existing and future infrastructure projects in the state.

The Collaborative was initially funded in 2013 with $100,000 from the Rhode Island Foundation’s Make It Happen initiative and a matching grant from the state. Last spring, the Foundation funded an additional $75,000 and the state added $50,000, said Daniel P. Egan, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island, the fiscal agent for the program. Funding is awarded on a rolling basis across fiscal years, he said.

No posts to display