Rhode Island Receives 16 Proposals for Innovation Campus

News provided by

Rhode Island Commerce Corporation

Mar 16, 2018, 16:30 ET

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (PRWEB) March 16, 2018 -- The Rhode Island Executive Office of Commerce in partnership with the University of Rhode Island today announced that it has received 16 responses to the Innovation Campus Request for Proposals. The RFP called for parties in academia and industry to come together to create a transformative Innovation Campus or campuses in Rhode Island that would turn academic research into new commercial products, businesses, and jobs. This competition will ultimately award funds from the $20 million bond issuance approved by Rhode Island's voters in November 2016.

"Rhode Island is in the game and on the move," said Governor Gina M. Raimondo. "The strong response to the Innovation Campus competition confirms that Rhode Island has the talent, institutions, and resources to be a truly great hub of innovation. The ultimate winners of this competition will expand our ability to help Rhode Island businesses grow and create jobs."

List of Applicants (Corporate Partners Followed by University Partners):

  • Anbaric Development Partners (ADP), Tx Grid, Schneider Electric, Ramboll, Intersection (An Alphabet Co.), URI
  • Arizona State University, URI, Ben Gurion
  • Cambridge BioLabs, Wexford Science & Technology, URI
  • IBM Alpha Zone, MassChallenge, First Data Corporation, Visible Systems, URI, Ben Gurion University, Brown University
  • Entanglement Research Institute (eRi), AECOM, SENEDIA, D-Wave Government Inc., Rigetti & Co., Zapata Computing, Cisco Systems, Scepter Inc., Esri, Planet Defense, City of Newport, URI
  • Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center, Raytheon Integrated Defense System, NUWC, SENEDIA, UTIC, High Performance Composites, URI
  • Farming Turtles, Geremia Farms, URI
  • DePuy Synthes Products Inc, (an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson), URI, RISD, Brown
  • Loft, URI
  • Polaris MEP, RI Marine Trades Association/Composites Alliance, RI Textiles Innovation Network, URI, Roger Williams University, RISD, AS220, IYRS, DESIGNxRI
  • RI Mushroom Co., American Ag Energy Inc, Verinomics, URI
  • Roger Williams Medical Center, Sorrento Therapeutics, PureTech Health, URI, Community College of RI
  • Tiffany & Co., Saint-Gobain S. A., URI, Rhode Island School of Design
  • Solielle Design Studio, Accurate Services Inc., Pallisades Mill, URI
  • IBM Security, Infralinx Capital, Samach + SEO, URI
  • SphereE, Smart Game Systems Inc., WishKnish Inc., Focus Vision Media, Filarski Architects, URI

Copies of each of the proposals' Executive Summaries can be found here. A committee made up of representatives of the Executive Office of Commerce and the University of Rhode Island will review the proposals and make recommendations to the Executive Office of Commerce. It is expected that successful applicants will be chosen and announced this summer.

"It's exciting to see the high-quality applicant pool that this competition has attracted," said Stefan Pryor, Secretary of Commerce. "Among those submitting are existing Rhode Island institutions and companies - as well as aspiring ones. And the fields they represent are varied. This is exactly what we were hoping for when the Governor, in partnership with the General Assembly, proposed this program."

"The University of Rhode Island has been confident that its research capabilities, intellectual talent, and economic development initiatives would compel many companies to consider submitting an innovation campus proposal," stated David M. Dooley, president of the University of Rhode Island. "We are delighted that sixteen proposals were submitted. These proposals showcase the value of partnering with research institutions like the University of Rhode Island to fuel innovation and job creation. The university is grateful that the Governor, General Assembly and Rhode Island voters supported the vision of developing an innovation campus and the university looks forward to identifying the proposal or proposals that can contribute the greatest economic and research opportunities to Rhode Island."

One or more Innovation Campus proposals will be chosen. The applicants have requested funding ranging from $1M to $11.5M. Selected projects will be required to exceed the state's investment from the bond proceeds.

According to research conducted by the Brookings Institution in the Rhode Island Innovates report, Rhode Island is a leading state for university research. Rhode Island institutions conduct over $320 million in research each year, and the 30 percent growth in Rhode Island's research activity has been nearly double the national rate of 16 percent.

In November 2016, Rhode Island voters approved a $20 million bond issue to create an Innovation Campus affiliated with URI that will work to bridge the gap between the world-class research occurring at Rhode Island's universities and the opportunity for new startups and job creation that will come with turning that research into commercial activity.

As the state of Rhode Island's public research university and a critical partner in economic development and growth, URI offers 80 undergraduate and 70 graduate programs, including leading programs in engineering, health, business, oceanography and pharmaceutical sciences.

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Matt Sheaff, Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, http://commerceri.com/, +1 4014900688, [email protected]