Governor Raimondo and Secretary of Commerce Pryor recently have launched cutting-edge incentives to spark the innovation economy in Rhode Island as the second, “Advanced Industries & Innovation” phase of the WAVE. The three new innovation-focused programs offer companies access to research, development and partners to help them grow, while supplementing the I-195 Redevelopment Fund — a $25-million fund to finance large-scale projects that have the potential to catalyze development in the I-195 district.
The Innovation Voucher program lets businesses unlock R&D capacity. Rhode Island companies with fewer than 500 employees can receive grants of up to $50,000 to fund R&D assistance from a Rhode Island university, research center or medical center. Vouchers can be redeemed for services to bridge expert technological gaps and to assist your business with an innovation project.
Innovation Vouchers reflect a renewed commitment to public, private and civic partnerships by utilizing the rich knowledge resources found right here in Rhode Island. By leveraging the expertise found within Rhode Island’s top-tier institutions of higher education, medical and research centers, businesses in the state will be able to redeem the voucher amount for services that translate basic and applied research and development into scalable commercial innovations.
Innovation Network Matching Grants support programs that offer technical assistance, space on flexible terms, and/or access to capital to Rhode Island entrepreneurs in key industries such as life sciences, health care, food and agriculture, clean technology, energy efficiency, cyber security, and others as designated.
Supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Rhode Island through incubator, accelerator and business development programs is a key component to the aggressive economic development strategy put forth by Governor Raimondo. The Innovation Network Matching Grants will play a vital role in supporting these types of programs.
Industry Cluster Grants encourage companies in an industry sector to work together to solve problems, exchange ideas and develop talent. Grants are available to fund planning and organization-building for the cluster (Planning Grants) and to implement programs to strengthen the cluster in areas such as R&D, workforce development, technology transfer, and cluster marketing (Implementation Grants).
Intermediary organizations who represent industry members are encouraged to contact a member of the Innovation Program team to discuss their cluster building strategy.
To learn more about these programs, please contact the Innovation Program team.
Download our Innovation Initiative overview.
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