Kaplan takes over EDC reins with innovation in mind

INTERVIEW
Saul Kaplan
Position: Acting executive director, R.I. Economic Development Corporation BACKGROUND: While a deputy director at the EDC, Kaplan helped found the Business Innovation Factory, an independent nonprofit geared toward testing new ideas and business models in the state. Before joining the EDC, Kaplan was a senior consultant in Accenture’s health and life sciences practice. He has served as a consultant in the fields of pharmaceuticals, medical products and biotechnology.
EDUCATION: B.A. in pharmacy, from the University of Rhode Island, and M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.
RESIDENCE: Providence
AGE: 49

It was less than five months ago that Kaplan appeared in the PBN’s Newsmakers profile section, discussing the EDC’s effort to position the state as a test bed for innovation through the Innovation @ Scale initiative. Now Gov. Donald L. Carcieri has tapped the former EDC deputy director to lead the agency, succeeding Executive Director Michael McMahon, who stepped down to become a partner in a New York private equity group. The appointment requires state Senate confirmation. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.

PBN: You have called Michael McMahon a “giant” for his contributions to the state. He was successful working with the Democratic legislative leadership while advancing the governor’s agenda. How will you build on those accomplishments?
KAPLAN: Openness, a willingness to listen and to look for constructive solutions to the real issues that we face. I’ve always been a very big believer in collaboration and connecting the dots so we can see a problem in a similar way, work together to find a solution, and then execute.

PBN: Do you have experience working with the General Assembly?
KAPLAN: I have relationships; I will be working to build upon them. This past year, I was active in the Science and Technology Advisory Council effort to produce a focused set of recommendations to create an innovation economy here in Rhode Island. And we’ve worked really hard to establish a real strong conversation with members of the General Assembly, especially with [House] Majority Leader [Gordon D.] Fox and state Sen. [William A.] Walaska.

PBN: You’ve tried to turn Rhode Island’s size into an advantage. How does that work?
KAPLAN: The recent award of the [Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research] grant from the National Science Foundation of $6.75 million is a great example of our size playing to our advantage. All 11 colleges and universities [in the state] played a part in that process. Everybody participated in shaping a proposal that took advantage of our unique ability to bring everybody together. It demonstrates to us that by working together and by taking advantage of our small size, and where everybody knows each other and can sit around the table and come together around a solution, it can really make a difference.

PBN: You are working on an initiative to have industrial design students from Rhode Island School of Design work with the local health care industry. What can they contribute?
KAPLAN: The project that you are referring to is a Business Innovation Factory effort to work together with RISD. We are going to run a design studio this summer focused on the patient/primary care physician experience. We want to put the patient in the middle; we want to understand what the current experience is from the patient’s view; and we want to at least begin the process of thinking about ways we can enhance that experience.

PBN: The Business Innovation Factory is also installing equipment at Brown University as part of an effort to make Rhode Island the first state with border-to-border broadband wireless capability. How could that service benefit Brown students?
KAPLAN: It’s very rewarding to see actual infrastructure being installed. Brown is a partner with us in the project and is providing us with access to the roof of their science library to house the equipment. They are also participating as one of the pilot application partners with us. They have a master’s in education program, and they want to send mobile teachers out to remote sites, and we’re going to arm them with the capability to tap into our pilot [wireless] network as one of a series of test applications. The promise within education is one of the most exciting possibilities for being the first state in the country to have border-to-border broadband wireless [capability].

PBN: Would you paint a picture for our readers of how businesses could benefit from adopting “Innovation @ Scale”?
KAPLAN: The promise of “Innovation @ Scale” [is that] innovators will be able to use our unique environment to get better at experimenting with better ways to deliver value. Companies and organizations, whether they are public or private, will be able to test new ideas and begin to deliver new value to their customers. Innovative companies are stronger companies. They will be around longer; they will create higher-wage jobs. We need to create an environment for companies here in Rhode Island to innovate, so they can get stronger and create higher-wage jobs. And make the environment attractive to companies outside the state to leverage our unique environment to test new business models here.