R.I. survey getting help where needed

While the Rhode Island Manufacturing Renaissance Project’s survey of manufacturers in the Ocean State provided a strong dose of optimism when released in May – results indicated manufacturers are ready to add workers and grow exports – backers of the project say their efforts have only begun.
The project’s survey work continues, with the spotlight now trained on manufacturing concerns with fewer than 20 employees. A set of recommendations for policy changes and other actions to help improve the overall climate for manufacturing continues to be refined as manufacturers provide more input.
And a comprehensive database of manufacturers across the state who have been surveyed will be continuously updated and refined.
“We all came to the same conclusion early on – that we need to continue this work long term,” said John Riendeau, director of business development for the R.I. Economic Development Corporation.
The EDC has been reaching out to survey respondents who expressed a desire to work with the agency and in some cases that helped drive additional survey feedback and information to feed the database. “We have had outreach teams in the field meeting with companies since last October,” Riendeau said. “This is definitely something that is ongoing.”
Still, the four groups behind the Renaissance Project – the EDC, the John H. Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University, Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Service and the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association – aren’t waiting to begin helping the manufacturers identified by the survey.
The groups already have processes in place to help those businesses with everything from export advice to supply-chain improvements, access to growth capital and workforce training, said Chafee Center Executive Director Raymond W. Fogarty.
The survey also identified “dozens of supply-chain opportunities” that the partner organizations can use to connect businesses with one another. “We’re hearing every day now feedback from all of our partners about what individual companies are saying and that is guiding us as we go forward,” Fogarty said. Harsha Prakash, CEO of Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Services, said his organization has begun discussions with some firms that were surveyed and expressed an interest in receiving guidance on topics such as continuous improvement or workforce development.
“This is another conduit for us to learn what the needs of these businesses are,” he said. “One nice thing that has come out of this is we are seeing companies that want to grow. It also seems to be shining a spotlight on the manufacturing sector in a positive way.”
The project’s Manufacturing 1000 survey release in May was accompanied by a manufacturing “renewal and growth program” that laid out a host of ways the state can help foster future manufacturing growth.
The report emphasized the importance of continued action and of not allowing the report to languish on a shelf. “Taking the Manufacturing Renaissance Project to the next level is essential,” the report states.
It also contains a number of recommendations – from reinstating tax credits for research and development expenses to improving workforce development, though many are general in nature and will be refined to become specific policy proposals. “It’s meant to be a working document that changes frequently based on continuing feedback,” Fogarty said.
Meanwhile, the database itself – modeled after those used in states such as Ohio as well as international best practices – will become a source of hard, analytical data.
“Analytics is a big part of this,” Fogarty said. “We are using our results to get a much better understanding of who the manufacturers in this state are, on a very specific level.” •

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