PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island continues its rise in the rankings of states positioning themselves to make science and technology the driving forces of their economies.

Rhode Island placed 11th in a state-by-state analysis, released yesterday, of how states are crafting economic development strategies focused on business sectors with strong growth prospects and high-wage jobs.

The rankings were compiled by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

When first issued in 1999, the report ranked Rhode Island 29th. Last year, the state ranked 15th.

“I was very hopeful we would see continued improvement,” said Saul Kaplan, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. “This index indicated that we’re doing the things [needed] to position Rhode Island in the new economy.”

Kaplan made note of the just-released ranking before he walked into an Economic Policy Council meeting that was focused on the state’s otherwise dour economic news.

Rosemary Booth Gallogly, the state’s budget officer, reviewed projections of a $372-million deficit for this fiscal year and about $450 million for the budget year that begins in July. Following her, Michael P. Lewis, director of the state Department of Transportation, explained the millions of dollars in financing needed to repair and maintain Rhode Island’s bridges and highways.

“There are a lot of things we have to do in the immediate term,” Kaplan said, to address the state’s current financial problems.

The future though, is focused on the science and technology sectors, which produce high-value goods and services, according to the Kauffman report.

“Even after controlling for a state’s industry mix, states with high-tech firms outperform those without strong technology sectors,” the report states.

The Kauffman study ranks states on 29 indicators, grouped into five categories: knowledge jobs; globalization efforts; economic dynamism; transformation to a digital economy; and technological innovation capacity.

“Just as the most effective companies take advantage of slowdowns to better position themselves for subsequent periods of strong economic growth, so, too, should states,” the report says. “These new economy factors have become a fundamental capacity that states need to have to find success and navigate the shoals of economic change.”

The Kauffman report is the second such analysis released this year placing Rhode Island among the nation’s leaders on science and technology issues.

The California-based Milken Institute placed Rhode Island 10th in its State Science and Technology Index, announced in June.

As in the Kauffman study, Rhode Island’s ranking improved in the Milken report — moving up from 11th.

Both reports may indicate that part of Rhode Island’s advantage comes from being part of a region heavily focused on science and technology.

Five of the top 20 states in the Kauffman report are in New England, with Massachusetts at the top and Connecticut ranked 6th.

Massachusetts ranked at the top of the Milken report, while Connecticut and New Hampshire placed ahead of Rhode Island.

“Regionally, the New Economy has taken hold most strongly in the Northeast, the mid-Atlantic, the Mountain West and the Pacific regions,” according to the Kauffman report.

pgrimald@projo.com