April 30, 2009
Press Release
Reed Requests Fiscal Year 2010 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations for Rhode Island
"These organizations and non-profits play important roles in Rhode Island’s economy and have a track record of success," said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee.
Bryant University John H. Chafee Center for International Business
Smithfield, Rhode Island
Global Business Command Center
Request: $500,000
Bryant University’s John H. Chafee Center for International Business in Smithfield, Rhode Island requests funding for a new Global Business Command Center. The Center will provide state-of-the-art interactive learning methodologies and global information networks to local businesses and the academic community in order to improve the state’s economic development through international trade. The initiative would also provide education and training to the Rhode Island workforce, to ensure that Rhode Island businesses remain competitive in the global market, that workers are provided opportunities to enhance their global business skills, and that students are afforded a top-notch global education that prepares them for today’s international business environment.
Farm Fresh Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island Open Kitchen
Request: $100,000
Farm Fresh Rhode Island of Providence, Rhode Island, seeks funds to establish an incubator kitchen that will be available to a range of users, including farmers, low-income entrepreneurs, and at-risk youth and would be used for a site for harvest preservation, value-added products, and nutrition education/public health programming. The kitchen would serve 600 Rhode Island farms and up to 200 Rhode Island entrepreneurs and small businesses seeking the assistance and resources provided by a shared, managed kitchen site. In addition, up to 100 nutritionally at-risk youths will receive job training, nutrition, and culinary education at the incubator kitchen annually.
Town of Middletown
Middletown, Rhode Island
Aquidneck Corporate Park Improvement Project
Request: $1,381,400
Town of Middletown, Rhode Island, seeks federal funds for phase 2 of the Aquidneck Corporate Park improvement project. Additional funding would be used in conjunction with the local municipal match of up to $1 million to install new signs, improve street lighting, replace the entire road system, build pull-off areas at entrances, install sidewalks throughout the park, and construct a wind turbine for renewable energy generation. Aquidneck Corporate Park is an industrial/corporate park originally built in the 1970's by the Town to create economic growth. The park has the largest concentration of defense-related businesses in Rhode Island. It currently has 44 businesses, employing approximately 2,500 employees. These enhancements will help the park to remain competitive and attract new high-tech and defense-related businesses that will offer high-paying job opportunities.
City of Providence
Department of Planning and Development
Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island Center for Life Sciences, Research, Development and Commercialization
Request: $750,000
The City of Providence requests funding for a planning, site selection, and project economics study to support the creation of the Rhode Island Center for Life Sciences, Research, Development and Commercialization in the City's Jewelry District. The proposed center will support research and development capacities in the life sciences, particularly in the areas of human disease research, vaccine and drug development, bioprocess research, and biomedical-oriented life sciences. Funding will support the preliminary scoping and design work for the center, which will pool resources and talent from Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, and other institutions and businesses. The preliminary scoping and design will create approximately 14 jobs, while the center, once established, could support up to 1,200 employees. This center has the potential to transform the Jewelry District into an area of research-driven activity and economic development, which is critical to future economic growth in the state of Rhode Island.
Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University
Partnership for Sustainable Design/
Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RI-CIE)
Providence, Rhode Island
$1,600,000
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Brown University of Providence, Rhode Island requests funding for collaboration between their two small business development assistance efforts. The RISD Partnership for Sustainable Design will provide intensive technical assistance for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and early-stage product developers who will participate in collaborative design projects that will connect them to RISD's art and design expertise in areas of renewable energy, alternative materials processes, and sustainable product design. Brown University’s Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RI-CIE) will provide a central location for early stage Rhode Island-based ventures to access the collaboration, support, and expertise they need to transfer ideas into successful enterprises. A portion of the appropriated funds would go toward seed funding for new businesses. This partnership would leverage investments by Brown, RISD and the Rhode Island Economic Development Council to promote entrepreneurship and business development in Rhode Island. Hard data will be maintained on the number of users, companies launched, and new jobs created.
Rhode Island Rural Development Council
North Kingstown, Rhode Island
Rhode Island Agriculture Economic Development
Request: $214,180
The Rhode Island Rural Development Council of North Kingstown, Rhode Island seeks funding to support small business development in the fields of agriculture, natural resources, forestry, fisheries, and aquaculture. Federal funds would be used for capacity-building of small business to support collaborative efforts to improve the economic development, sustainability, and marketing efforts of rural businesses in Rhode Island, as well as education programs and new efforts with the University of Rhode Island to get younger workers into the farming and horticulture industries.
###
