Rhode Island Boosts TBED Efforts

Before ending its 2003 session, the Rhode Island legislature signed off on nearly all of the technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives at the core of Gov. Donald Carcieri's strategy to help the state rebound from the down economy. First outlined in his Feb. 4 State of the State Address (see the Feb. 14 Digest), the governor's multi-faceted approach includes many key pieces to building a stronger tech-based economy: business-university partnerships to advance and commercialize technology, entrepreneurial assistance for tech firms, increased investments in academic R&D capacity, incentives to encourage tech commercialization, access to early-stage capital, and the tech-skill competence of the workforce.

Specifically approved by the state legislature were:

• Initial planning funds of $300,000 for the $50 million University of Rhode Island Center for Biotechnology and Molecular Biosciences;
• Increasing appropriations for the Slater Samuel Technology Fund from $2.5 million to $4 million. The Fund supports and sustains the growth of entrepreneurial tech firms through mentoring and technical assistance and seed financing;
• Legislation addressing intellectual property reforms increasing the incentive for universities and faculty researchers to commercialize technology resulting from academic labs (House Bill 6154 and Senate Bill 864);
• The initial phase of funding to establish a $10 million biopharmaceutical manufacturing training institute and $300,000 to equip an interim biotech training facility at the University of Rhode Island; and,
• Increased funding of $1.4 million for workforce adult literacy programs.

The community to be served through state or local TBED assistance can play a vital role in the design and promotion of the programs. For example, individual and coordinated private business and industrial support helped advance nine out of 10 items on the governor's TBED agenda through the legislature. The Rhode Island Jobs Alliance, a business community group committed to enhancing the state's economic climate, actively supported the measures through a rally, providing testimony before various legislative committees and coordinating letter-writing and phone campaigns to individual legislators.

More information is available at: http://www.trioncom.com/carcieri/