A model for growing RI manufacturing

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On Sept. 29, I had the great pleasure of joining President Rosanne Somerson of the Rhode Island School of Design, members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation and many representatives of the manufacturing and design community to help kick off National Manufacturing Month in October.

In addition to the opening of RISD’s new collaborative design space – Co-Works – for faculty and students in downtown Providence, we saw manufacturers, artists, designers and makers interacting, and we heard their success stories.

We caught a glimpse of the tremendous concentration of design-thinking talent and manufacturing capabilities working at the leading edge of innovation right here in Rhode Island. We witnessed the unique potential Rhode Island has to be a hub for creation, invention and industry growth by fusing art, design and manufacturing to transform the economy of the 21st century just as science and technology did in the last century.

The vital role design and manufacturing will play in Rhode Island’s economic future was a big part of the development of Commerce RI’s Actions for Economic Development plan. One of the recommended actions is the creation of a center for design and manufacturing.

So what would such a center look like?

Whether in virtual or physical form, we envision this center as a gathering place to bring design and engineering thinking together with manufacturers and possibly other service providers. The goal is to help manufacturers diversify their products and services so they can access new markets and grow the economy.

We want the center to catalyze idea generation, rapid development and prototyping, reinvention of products, and more for manufacturers without expansive R&D operations so they can better compete and thrive.

The good news is that the work has already begun, and we’re off to a good start.

With seed funding from the Rhode Island Foundation and a grant award from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, Commerce RI and our partners have begun to develop a business plan for the center focused on creating a sustainable structure and core activity set.

We’re calling the center STEAMengine. STEAMengine is a reference to Rhode Island’s manufacturing legacy and the state’s future in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) education and companies. The name underscores the capacity for related STEAM fields to reshape our businesses and to be an engine for economic growth.

Commerce RI and the Rhode Island Congressional delegation have been able to leverage these initial funds to secure a nearly $1.6 million follow-on grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Economic Adjustment, announced on Sept. 23.

The grant, combined with in-kind contributions from Commerce RI, will be used to develop a pilot for expanding the state’s defense-related manufacturing base through a STEAMengine center model.

Beginning as a pilot with Rhode Island’s defense industry, the DoD grant will help the state to develop a prototype for how a STEAMengine concept could work to support existing Rhode Island manufacturers as they develop and commercialize new products.

The two primary goals over the next year will be to:

Develop a program that allows defense-manufacturing companies to pursue an accelerated program of market transformation through intensive use of industrial design, engineering and innovation; and create the information and linkages with resources that will serve defense manufacturers and our communities in limiting the impact of defense-related spending cuts and identify new opportunities for economic diversification.  

Additional partners, such as trade associations and colleges and universities, which can provide direct services to manufacturers, have been and will continue to play key roles in the further development of STEAMengine.

The DoD grant ensures that the effort to establish STEAMengine in Rhode Island will continue, but the need to explore additional funding will remain as the center gets underway and until it can become self-sustaining from a business standpoint.

There is a lot of work to be done in a short period of time, but we’re glad to be underway and look forward to working with our partners to help make STEAMengine a reality.

Marcel A. Valois is the executive director of Commerce RI.

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