The governor's advisory council's recommendations range from support for a statewide wireless Internet network to offering tax breaks to entrepreneurs.

01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, January 24, 2006

BY ANDREA L. STAPE
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- After nine months of research, the governor's Science and Technology Advisory Council made five recommendations yesterday on ways the state can start strengthening its science and technology sectors.

The recommendations, ranging from support for a statewide wireless Internet network to offering tax breaks to entrepreneurs, would cost the state about $2.2 million in fiscal 2007 and would require passage of legislation.

However, the council's cochair, Jeffrey R. Seemann, dean of the college of the environment and life sciences at the University of Rhode Island, said the amount of money is small and the recommendations are just the beginning.

"This is an investment," Seemann said. "They may feel like costs, but we think -- if made -- they'll have significant returns."

The council was established by Governor Carcieri in April to study Rhode Island's science and technology industry in comparison with other states and to come up with a strategic plan for retaining scientists, encouraging company creation and fostering innovation.

In October, a STAC-commissioned study by the Council on Competitiveness reported that Rhode Island is having trouble holding onto young, educated workers. It also showed that the state's educational attainment level is slightly Below average when compared with the rest of the nation. In addition, Rhode Island's higher education institutions are not actively collaborating with the local business community, and Rhode Island has fallen from 13th to 20th in the annual state-by-state rankings of the number of patents issued in each state.

Based on that assessment, as well as interviews with 100 business, community and government leaders, the advisory council drafted the five-point strategic plan released yesterday. The council, along with the governor and two state legislators, met at the Providence Foundation yesterday to discuss the next steps for implementing the plan.

"We know that Rhode Island can do better, that Rhode Island must do better if it's going to compete," Seemann said. "Failure is just not an option."

The advisory council has recommended that the state support the formation of a research alliance between the state's research universities and hospitals. Already the state is about to receive a $6.75-million grant from the National Science Foundation to encourage collaboration. The council is recommending that the state spend $1.5 million this year to supplement the federal grant and to strengthen the state's science and technology research and development capacity, according to its proposal.

The council also recommended setting up a blue-ribbon commission at URI to assess the school and make proposals for strengthening its position nationally as a competitive public research institution.

The third advisory council recommendation is the creation of a science and technology entrepreneur tax credit, which would be used to attract and keep entrepreneurs. It would also provide a tax incentive for Rhode Island investors who financially support the entrepreneurs and their new companies. The incentive would be modeled after the state's motion picture tax credits, Seemann said. The council did not have details of the tax proposal and does not yet have a legislative sponsor to introduce the tax credit to the General Assembly, he said.

The advisory council also recommended that the state invest $500,000 in an initiative sponsored by private industry to set up a wireless Internet network throughout Rhode Island. The project is focused on building a $20-million, high-speed Internet network that would cover the state's 2,000 square miles. A pilot project to set up a test network is currently being managed by IBM. The network would be available to businesses and government and its development is already being supported by CVS, Verizon Communication, Verizon Wireless, and Cox Communications, among others. The state had committed to putting $100,000 into the pilot project, according to prior Providence Journal reports.

In addition, the advisory council recommended that the state continue to finance the council's existence. It suggests the state invest $200,000 so the council can implement its initial recommendations and come up with another set for fiscal 2007.

While these recommendation are a start, "we have a lot more to do than was laid out here today" to make Rhode Island's science and technology industries competitive with other states, said Saul Kaplan, an advisory council member and deputy director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

Carcieri said yesterday he supported the advisory council's fiscal 2007 recommendations, but acknowledged that it will be a tough budget year. However, he said, "I put some placeholders in the budget anticipating this report."

Advisory council members, in addition to Seemann, are: Andries van Dam, vice president for research at Brown University; Dave Bengston, vice president and general manager of the Rhode Island operations for Amgen; Paul Choquette Jr., chairman of Gilbane Construction Co.; David Hibbitt, chairman of Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen Inc.; Saul Kaplan, deputy director, Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation; Margaret Leinen, assistant director for geosciences, National Science Foundation; Richard Nadolink, former chief of technology at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center; Thomas Rockett, governor for higher education and vice provost emeritus, University of Rhode Island; Thomas Ryan, chairman and CEO of CVS Inc.; Cheryl W. Snead, president and CEO of Banneker Industries; and Donald Stanford, president of Stanford Scientific.

astape@projo.com / (401) 277-7269