Business, Academic, and Healthcare Leaders Drive Intensive Effort To Create “Knowledge Economy Roadmap”

January 3, 2008: The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the Providence Foundation -- together with a consortium of the state’s leading businesses, hospitals, colleges and universities -- today announced the launching of a first-of-its kind effort to crank up the city’s and region’s performance as a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity, investment and job growth. The end game, according to project organizers, is to create a total environment for knowledge economy companies in the region.

New Economy Strategies, LLC (NES) based in Washington, DC has been engaged by the Chamber and the Foundation to determine how key employers can move beyond their own institutional strengths and into a far reaching collaborative network that fuels the expansion of a knowledge-based economy in Providence.

The knowledge economy, as defined by NES, includes a combination of industries that are knowledge-driven, knowledge-dependent and knowledge-producing. Examples include biotechnology and medical devices, healthcare, electronic/industrial hardware, digital media, telecommunications, information technology software, scientific research, design and engineering, financial services and education.

Connecting the dots

“The intensive project will specifically define how Providence can connect the dots to spark growth of new business ventures, new tax revenue and new jobs,” said Edward Cooney, chairman of the board of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. “The idea is to make Providence a compelling niche destination for entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, students and knowledge workers over the next five years.”

In addition to the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the Providence Foundation, project participants include Lifespan, Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, Care New England, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence College, Johnson & Wales University, the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council, the Rhode Island Foundation, CB Richard Ellis, Nortek, the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Independent Higher Education Association and others.

According to Dan Baudouin, executive director of the Providence Foundation, New Economy Strategies will “conduct a high-level analysis of our intellectual assets and competitive strengths and precisely identify our areas of opportunity in the global marketplace.” Project leaders emphasize that the path forward, or the “roadmap for Providence,” ultimately seeks to:

• foster collaboration among businesses, universities, colleges and hospitals;
• grow knowledge-based businesses in the city and region, including start-ups, existing businesses, and new investors;
• increase the commercialization of institutional research and accelerate the development of for-profit commercial ventures;
• create jobs in Providence and increase jobs held by residents of the city;
• increase the commercial tax base in Providence;
• increase income, sales and corporate taxes to the State of Rhode Island;
• retain more knowledge workers in the region; and
• help assure that Providence is competitive for growing and nurturing knowledge based industries.

Global positioning, niche marketing

“At the heart of the project,” said Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, “will be a first-of-its-kind effort to dive deeply into proprietary sources of data that, once strung together and understood as a whole, can reveal new pockets of opportunity for industry growth and institutional collaboration. Simply put, we want to find our sweet spot. From there, we will be able to develop a global positioning strategy that targets niche markets as part of a three- to five- year business plan.”

Areas to be examined include:

• Identifying the region’s leading knowledge-based industry clusters;
• Understanding the impact and composition of federal research and development dollars in the local economy;
• Evaluating the potential for commercialization of research through new patent creation, venture-backed startup formation, and partnerships; and
• Identifying national best practices in knowledge-based development which can guide future activities in Providence and the area.

To flesh outthe quantitative analysis, NES will take the pulse of the community by conducting interviews with entrepreneurs, business professionals, financing partners, healthcare researchers and academic leaders. Interviews have already begun and are focused on identifying specific impediments to the local business and entrepreneurial climate that can be addressed through new collaboration.

Gathering input on website: providencechamber.com

“This work is particularly important,” said White, “given the fact that the State continues to be challenged by chronic budget shortfalls, slow job growth, rising demand for government services and an education gap that threatens the State’s long term global competitiveness.”

The process will result in a far-reaching “Knowledge Economy Roadmap” for Greater Providence, which will reflect the role of diverse, statewide assets. The plan will be completed in March 2008 and is expected to draw on the collective input of hundreds of participants statewide. An online survey will soon be available on the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce website for any businesses or residents to submit their feedback to the process.