THE R.I. OFFICE OF INNOVATION closed permanently last June without a public announcement except for a notice on its website. The office was created under Gov. Gina M. Raimondo in 2016. PBN FILE PHOTO/CASSIUS SHUMAN
PROVIDENCE — A shift in state leadership hastened the closure of the R.I. Office of Innovation, according to state and former office employees who say the office had been intended as a temporary measure. Beginning in 2016, the Office of Innovation, established with much fanfare under then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, helped to launch more than…