For more than two decades, Providence nonprofit the Tech Collective provided training, recognition and other guidance for innovators ranging from aspiring entrepreneurs to seasoned professionals.
But by the end of 2021, the organization that held a prominent place on the state’s innovation landscape no longer had the resources to sustain itself. In early December, the Tech Collective announced that it would cease operations at the end of the year, citing a significant drop in revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tech Collective wasn’t the only innovation-focused organization to close during the pandemic. In the summer of 2021, the R.I. Office of Innovation quietly ceased operations after more than five years in operation.
Despite these closures, innovation leaders remain optimistic about the state’s potential for continued growth in technology and new ideas.
Rhode Island began making strides as a hub for innovation around 10 to 15 years ago, said Saul Kaplan, founder and chief catalyst of the Providence-based Business Innovation Factory.
The Tech Collective played an instrumental role in sparking this growth, Kaplan said, and the state’s Office of Innovation, which launched in 2016 with much fanfare under then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, later helped to reinforce this work.
But new efforts have cropped up in the meantime, Kaplan said, and Rhode Island innovation continues on an upward trajectory.
“I think we’re in a better position today than we were when these programs started,” Kaplan said, “and I think these programs will evolve.”
Part of this effort comes from a growing understanding that “we’re heading in the direction where innovation is not owned by particular industry sectors,” he said. “Innovation is important for sustaining and growing any sector.”
Likewise, Kaplan said, he hasn’t noticed a decline in the state’s efforts since the closure of the Office of Innovation.
‘I think we’re in a better position today than we were when these programs started.’
SAUL KAPLAN, Business Innovation Factory founder and chief catalyst
A spokesperson for R.I. Commerce Corp. did not respond to questions on why the office closed.
During its time in operation, the office oversaw projects such as ConnectRI, an initiative to provide more Rhode Islanders with high-speed, home broadband internet access; and the R.I. Open Textbook Initiative, which called on all colleges and universities in the state to cut back on student textbook expenses by $5 million over five years by using openly licensed textbooks.
Some projects continue through partner organizations, according to the office’s website, but all others have closed.
Joseph Devine, who served as vice chairman of the Tech Collective’s board of directors, doesn’t expect that the Tech Collective’s closure will leave a void in the startup community, noting that in its last five years, the nonprofit had mostly worked with established businesses.
“But what I do worry about is innovation getting into our existing businesses,” he said.
Former members are working with various companies to try to continue some of the organization’s initiatives, such as its R.I. CIO Forum, which brought innovation leaders together three to four times a year to share ideas, and the Tech 10 Awards.
Devine believes the Office of Innovation also leaves a gap in broader efforts to foster innovation.
“I think the state would be better off if we still had that office,” Devine said. “That was something that was a central focus, that all innovation initiatives could communicate through and make connections.”
Still, other organizations have also stepped up to the plate, he said, such as RIHub, which supports startups and entrepreneurs, and the Rhode Island Business Competition, which is sponsored by numerous organizations.
Mollie Frazer Williams, director of innovation and entrepreneurship at Innovate Newport, said it’s important to continue efforts emphasizing Rhode Island’s place in the innovation landscape.
“A challenge, and an opportunity, is we’re competing, in a way, with Boston, which has a larger talent pool, higher wages and more investors,” Williams said. “As a whole, people in the state are working hard to build awareness about all of the access we have here in Rhode Island.”
In the Newport area, that means promoting industries beyond hospitality and tourism, Williams said, which some think of as the region’s sole economic driver.
But Newport’s coastal location makes it a prime area for “blue economy” industries such as offshore wind, aquaculture and marine trade, Williams said.
Additionally, Kaplan said, “the research community, particularly across universities in Rhode Island, is much better networked and much better positioned as a state to go after serious grant funding for research, and building some of the capacity we need for the ideas and practices that change the local economy.”
While some innovation growth in the state has occurred naturally, other aspects were accelerated by the pandemic, Kaplan said.
Businesses “had to use technology more, they had to find new ways to serve their customers,” he added. “When you get pushed against a wall like we have in this pandemic, you have no choice but to innovate.”
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Voghel@PBN.com.
