Culatta named R.I. chief innovation officer

GOV. GINA M. Raimondo is shown with Richard Culatta, the state's new chief innovation officer. / COURTESY GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
GOV. GINA M. Raimondo is shown with Richard Culatta, the state's new chief innovation officer. / COURTESY GOVERNOR'S OFFICE

PROVIDENCE – Richard Culatta has been hired as the state’s first chief innovation officer, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo announced in a press release on Monday.
Culatta, who will make $210,000 annually, is a Rhode Island native who recently left a position as senior adviser to former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. He also served as executive director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology.
“We need new approaches, both in the way government operates, and in the types of businesses we attract and nurture here. The role of the chief innovation officer will be about opening up government and using data to solve problems,” Raimondo said in a statement.

Said Culatta, “To effectively serve citizens, government needs to become competent in the digital age and work with the private sector to tackle challenges that are too big for either to solve on their own. In so doing, Rhode Island has the opportunity to become a nationally-recognized innovation hub and an example for the rest of the country of how to make government move faster at a reduced cost.”

Raimondo said a partnership will be launched with Rhode Island College to open the Office of Innovation. The office, which will be supported by the Rhode Island College Foundation, will serve as a central hub for innovation efforts in the state.
The office will be responsible for making government more efficient, cost-effective and responsive to citizen needs. It also will accelerate and promote innovations in the private sector across the state, according to information from the governor.

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