PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Foundation is accepting applications for a fifth round of $300,000 innovation fellowships.
Made possible by Letitia and John Carter, the annual fellowships are intended to support initiatives that can move Rhode Island forward. This year, some changes have been made to the application process to clarify intent, including eligibility only for individual applicants and not teams, the foundation said in a news release.
The deadline for submitting applications is Dec. 11. In February 2016, the selection panel will ask semi-finalists to submit a more detailed application and short video. Winners are expected to be announced in April.
“This program enhances Rhode Island’s reputation as a place of innovation and ingenuity,” Neil D. Steinberg, the foundation’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We thank Letitia and John Carter for having the vision to encourage bold thinkers to bring their best ideas to life.”
Preference will be given to proposals that promise the greatest good for the greatest number of Rhode Islanders, Steinberg said. That is typically a small idea that has the potential to be built to scale, or new approaches to intractable challenges.
“Letitia and I believe strongly in the promise of our state and the importance of innovation,” said John Carter. “We hope this program will continue to generate creative proposals with the potential to lead to great things.”
The 2015 winners were John Haley and the husband and wife team of Daniel Kamil and Emily Steffian. Haley is working on a plan to stimulate the state’s shellfish industry.
Kamil and Steffian are working on first-run independent film programming for the Providence Cinemateque, a multi-screen exhibition space and educational facility, and related film projects.
Other past fellows include Amy Bernhardt and David Dadekian in 2014; Adrienne Gagnon and Dr. Lynn Taylor in 2013, and Soren Ryherd and Allan Tear in 2012.
Steinberg will chair the selection committee, which includes Victor Capellan, superintendent of schools in Central Falls; Janet Coit, director of the state Department of Environmental Management; Patricia Flanagan, professor of pediatrics and chief of clinical affairs at Hasbro Children’s Hospital; Theresa Moore, president of T-Time Productions; Aidan Petrie, co-founder and chief innovation officer at Ximedica; and Dan Shedd, president of Taylor Box Company.
Eligibility requirements are posted at www.rifoundation.org.
