Some signs of life in emerging knowledge economy

It’s a message that’s been stated repeatedly in an effort to drive Rhode Island’s – and the nation’s – economic recovery: a knowledge-based economy, technical retraining and small-business creation are keys on the road to success. And Rhode Island is making some progress, according to Laurie White, executive director of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber and the Innovation Providence Implementation Council discussed those gains and areas of needed improvement at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center in Providence on Nov. 1.
“Relative to other states, Rhode Island has made significant improvements,” White said.
According to the 2012 Rhode Island Innovation Index, existing areas of strength in the Ocean State compared to the rest of the nation include venture-capital investments (fifth) and research & development (third for nonprofit, seventh for academic and eighth for federally funded).
The state has also performed well in securing and higher education attainment (13th), which is the percentage of the population over age 25 with a four-year degree.
“The neurosciences are again a special area of competency and expertise in Rhode Island,” White added.
Other strengths included the availability of high-speed Internet, per capita income and the number of patents issued to colleges and universities in the state.
On the other hand, the index also identified areas considered to be a source of weakness. These included state appropriations for higher education (47th), a poor entrepreneurial climate (42nd), the gross state product growth (42nd) and net domestic migration (36th).
The index evaluated the state’s performance in 23 different categories using several different indicators. Data was compared to national figures as well as New England data and the 27 Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) states. The report was prepared by the Chamber and the R.I. Science & Technology Advisory Council.
According to the Chamber, the building of a knowledge-based economy has drawn the input of more than 500 community leaders over the last four years, when the initiative started. The Rhode Island unemployment rate was 10.5 percent in September. Unemployment in the state has been among the highest in the country since the economic collapse. Focusing on developing a knowledge-based economy is just one of the many efforts being taken to help stimulate job growth, but so far those efforts have not resulted in the jump-start needed to get Rhode Islanders working again.
White did give some hope for improvement, saying that according to the Chamber’s data there has been job growth in industries that are commonly referred to as being knowledge-based, such as biotech, health care, electronic hardware, digital media and telecommunications, to name a few. However, jobs were lost at a greater pace in other areas of employment.
One improvement in advancing the knowledge-based economy is the formation of The Founders League, created through a partnership with the Chamber, Brown University, the University of Rhode Island and Betaspring, a startup program for technology and design entrepreneurs. The league will offer space and programming for entrepreneurs similar to the R.I. Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship that closed last year. It will be located at 95 Chestnut St. in Providence.
The Chamber has also teamed with the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the R.I. Student Loan Authority and the governor’s office to launch a new website connecting students with employers in search of interns.
“We know from the literature that internship opportunities have a positive effect in getting knowledgeable students to stay here,” White said.
Constance Howes, chairwoman of the IPIC, said the group intends to focus on three areas over the next year.
The first is institutional investments, where IPIC will meet quarterly with the state’s hospitals to discuss the health care economy.
IPIC will also focus on the legislative agenda of the General Assembly. Their goals include reinstatement of the state’s historic tax credit and support for affordable housing and other initiatives.
“Finally, we want to support the growing entrepreneurial economy,” Howes said. •

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