PROVIDENCE – Location. Location. Location. That was the message delivered by a relocation expert to the R.I. Economic Policy Council this morning.

John Rhodes, senior principal at Moran, Stahl and Boyer, provided the governor and business leaders a taste of what’s to come in his Statewide Strategic Plan for Commercial and Industrial Site Development. A spokeswoman for the R.I. Economic Development Corporation said the agency expects the full report and its recommendations in about two months.

From there, EDC Interim Executive Director Michael Saul said the agency plans to focus on six to eight initiatives and develop mechanisms to reach them.

On Wednesday, Rhodes stayed away from making recommendations, but said the state must seize its considerable university base and entice graduates to stay in Rhode Island by providing internships, industry connections and a good quality of life. The state, he said, also needs to design a permitting process that allows businesses to set up shop quickly to take advantage of market conditions.

“When I bring clients to your state I want to see something developed,” Rhodes said. “I want to see land ready. I want to see a building.”

Corporations also want to see low taxes and a streamlined regulatory structure.

“This is where ‘needs improvement’ is on your report card,” Rhodes said.

The state has consistently ranked at or near the bottom in business friendly surveys, but Gov. Donald L. Carcieri told the council the state was holding the line on taxes when neighboring states were increasing them.

The governor also said he understood that the cost of electricity – three to four times here than in much of the South – was a barrier to bringing large companies and manufacturing jobs.

Still, Rhodes said that the GDP output from manufacturing remains strong around $4 billion annually despite the industry shedding about 20,000 jobs since 2001.

“The folks that are staying in the state today are very productive people and people that want to be here,” he said.

And while the state is constrained geographically by its position in the corner of the country, Rhodes said for a tiny state it provided an extensive transportation network, including a deepwater port, a rail link, a commuter rail station and an airport “people in New England brag about.”