5Q: Christine Smith

 / PBN PHOTO/JAIME LOWE
/ PBN PHOTO/JAIME LOWE

1 In February you awarded a ninth round of Collaborative Research STAC grants on climate variability. How do you select the year’s focus?

The round of grants that we just awarded is the required state match to a $20 million National Science Foundation grant Rhode Island receives to help increase statewide research capacity, build research infrastructure and enhance workforce training and diversity. The grant focuses on: “How is marine life in Narragansett Bay responding to climate change?” When we applied for the first grant almost 10 years ago, there was a consensus that solutions to complex global challenges, like climate change, were going to be found through collaborative, multidisciplinary research. … So far, the $9.8 million we have distributed in seed grants has returned about $44 million in follow-on funding.

2 How much money do you have for grant awards?

STAC receives an annual appropriation of $1.15 million each year in the state budget to administer the Collaborative Research Grants and for the past two years we have received an additional $500,000 appropriation to launch a new grant program, the Innovate RI Small Business Fund.

- Advertisement -

3 Are you getting enough applications?

The Collaborative Research grant program has been around for a number of years and it is well-known; the researchers look forward to the call for proposals each year. The Innovate RI Fund is still fairly new, so we are working with Commerce RI and other community partners such as the Bio Science Leaders, SENEDIA, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the Tech Collective to get the word out to their members.

4 Some startup owners have expressed frustration with the grant-application process. How are you helping with that?

We have been doing a few things to make it easier for Rhode Island companies to participate. For example, we have worked with Congressman [James R.] Langevin to provide a forum on the basics of the programs and with Sen. [Jack] Reed to bring program managers up from Washington to help demystify the process.

5 How are you using grant awards to help businesses hire interns?

The Innovate RI Fund provides companies with grants of up to $3,000 to defray the cost of providing internships and mentoring to Rhode Island residents attending a Rhode Island college or university. We have had more than 25 companies participate in the program so far with good results. •

No posts to display