PROVIDENCE – Gov. Donald L. Carcieri has proposed reducing to five the number of collaborative research grants that the R.I. Science and Technology Advisory Council will award early next year because of Rhode Island’s budget problems.
The reduction, which would need to be approved by the General Assembly, could jeopardize the state’s effort to win a five-year, $20 million extension of the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program in Rhode Island.
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As part of his deficit reduction plan, the governor proposed cutting $200,000, or about 13 percent, of the $1.5 million earmarked for the Rhode Island Research Alliance, which allocates grants to researchers from multiple institutions who join together for a project.
This year, the council awarded seven grants of about $200,000 each to collaborative research projects by 23 scientists from 10 institutions statewide.
The R.I. Budget Office said the proposed cut would reduce by two the number of available grants, to a total of five. Applications for next year’s awards were due in October, and the winners are scheduled to be announced late next month.
In January, STAC members said the $1.5 million investment in the projects grants is a requirement in order for Rhode Island to fulfill the requirements of the three-year, $6.75 million EPSCoR grant the state won in 2006. The state is now applying for a five-year extension of the grant that would bring up to $20 million in new research funds here.
The National Science Foundation requires “a significant demonstration of state support for science and technology” to participate in EPSCoR, said Melissa Chambers, a spokeswoman for the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, which manages STAC.
“This is a very competitive grant, and our commitment to making investments in S&T will be judged against other states,” Chambers said. “Any decrease in funding at this point may weigh against us and jeopardize future funding.” The collaborative grants have received $1.5 million in funding in the state’s last four annual budgets.
“The collaborative research program has been successful,” Chambers said. She said $2.6 million in funding given to grantees in the first years of the program had led to an additional $5.7 million in public and private funding for local projects. “This year’s group of grantees has already brought in $1 million and started one new company in the last 10 months,” she added.
Additional information is available at stac.ri.gov.
