Chamber joining push for boost in research funding

The “knowledge economy” is a tantalizing vision as one path for Rhode Island to shake off the economic doldrums of its shrunken manufacturing base and maximize the talent and skill in the state’s colleges and forward-thinking businesses.
For business, the essence of the knowledge economy is research and development, where federal money is often a substantial driver.
“Federal funding for research got knocked down hard in the last few years, but with a budget in place, I think that will be coming back in a big way,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., told an audience of 500 business leaders at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick on March 31 at a breakfast gathering hosted by the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.
Whitehouse said having a bipartisan budget agreement in place is a positive step in that direction.
“When you have a budget and every dollar is not the marginal dollar, the question becomes where – not whether – to spend the money, and in that new discussion research should do much better,” said Whitehouse.
Rhode Island business leaders are eager to play a role in that debate.
“The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce has just joined a new national coalition of chambers of commerce working for increased federal research funding,” Chamber President Laurie White told Providence Business News.
“The goal of ‘Business for Federal Research Funding’ will be to build support in Washington for a strong R&D funding-growth platform, beginning with the fiscal 2015 budget appropriations process which is now underway,” said White.
The Providence Chamber is collaborating with the Boston Chamber of Commerce in the effort, White said. The coalition will focus on key agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, NASA and the Departments of Defense, Energy and Homeland Security.
“These research dollars are the lifeblood of our regional and national innovation economy – driving patent generation, startup and job-creation activity, technological and biomedical breakthroughs,” said White. “The recently enacted fiscal 2014 budget provided an important measure of relief to research accounts by partially rolling back damaging sequestration cuts, yet the coalition organizers believe the road ahead is challenging,” she said. “Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of research-funding gains made in the past decade and funding levels for fiscal 2015 will be determined within the context of a discretionary spending cap that is set to increase by less than 0.2% over fiscal 2014.”
There is much at stake in this upcoming budget season, she said.
“We’ve seen the tremendous economic benefits and innovations that sustained, robust research funding can bring to our regions” said White. “We also know that damage can be done to our research and innovation sectors by cuts to, or gradual erosion of, research funding.”
Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I., pointed to the urgency of getting Rhode Island’s workforce in shape to be competitive, during the breakfast forum on issues of concern to the business community.
“We have to be more aggressive in the transition to the knowledge economy,” said Langevin. “We need to make sure we have a trained workforce. That’s where we’re lacking. We need to put more dollars into education. We have to invest more in training at the high school and community college level.”
One issue members of the congressional delegation generally agree on is their lack of enthusiasm for a college rating system being developed by the U.S. Department of Education, based on direction from President Obama.
“The department is now evaluating all the comments we received, while working with data experts, soliciting technical recommendations and assessing existing ratings systems in higher education and other fields,” according to the website on the project. “Our goal is to publish a draft of the ratings system in mid-2014 for public feedback and improvement. The president has charged us to issue the ratings in time for students and others to use it for the 2015-16 school year,” according to the website.
In a new format that brought members of the business community forward to present questions to the congressional delegation, Barbara L. Bennett, senior vice president of law and policy at Johnson & Wales University, asked their opinions on the rating system.
“When students are looking at a broad array of higher education options, they need to focus. Do you think having a single rating will provide the transparency students and families need to decide where to go?” asked Bennett.
“There are some dangers in attempting to aggregate all the information, look at one number and decide which college to go to,” said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.
Langevin said the income of graduates as a factor in a college’s rating isn’t a solid system.
“It’s not fair to penalize a college if graduates work at a nonprofit and choose not to make the highest incomes,” said Langevin.
“It’s simplistic and misleading,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. “It’s not just about having information available. We have to have organizations to help parents and students and address this huge accumulation of debt students are taking on.
“I suggest we give the colleges and lenders skin in the game, not just lend to young people who go to four years of school, get a degree and may not be qualified to get a job,” said Reed. “I think if the colleges and lenders have to share in the federal loans, they will have a business incentive about what courses to offer, which students they accept and will make students complete their education.” •

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