Chafee recently met with key partners – including the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and the Rhode Island Foundation – to outline the framework for an independent research division to support economic development policy. A combination of public and private funding will support the Collaborative; the Economic Development Corp. will match the Rhode Island Foundation’s $100,000 commitment.
“Strengthening Rhode Island’s economy has been and remains my top priority as governor,” Chafee said. “Rhode Island is home to some of the finest higher education institutions in the country, and we should be using these assets to our strategic advantage. This partnership will harness the tremendous knowledge and resources of our colleges and universities to develop sound public policy research that will grow our economy.”
“Together, we can put the collective expertise of our public and private institutions to work on behalf of informed economic policy decisions in our state,” added Dooley. “The effective use of data and research cannot be underestimated; it can accelerate our economic recovery. No single entity can solve our state’s economic problems. With this collaborative, we now have a statewide platform to assist our policy makers with those issues most critical to Rhode Islanders today.”
In addition to Dooley, the Collaborative is being developed by the presidents of Brown University, Bryant University, the Community College of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University, New England Institute of Technology, Providence College, Rhode Island College, the Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams University, and Salve University.
The Collaborative will strategically focus on consensus state economic policy issues developed by public policy representatives from the executive and legislative branches of state government in consultation with campus leaders. It will include a leadership team, panel of policy leaders, research fellows, and administrative support that will work together to utilize the knowledge of eleven different higher education institutions.