RI Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Recognized as “Program of the Year” by NEDA
NEDA Honors RIEDC with five awards for marketing and promotion excellence
The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) announced that the Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RI-CIE) received the Program of the Year Award at the Northeastern Economic Developers Association’s (NEDA) 54th Annual Conference in Providence today.
RIEDC also received five awards for marketing and promotion excellence. This is the third consecutive year that the RIEDC has been recognized for its marketing and promotions efforts.
Formed in 2009 by the RIEDC and Brown University, RI-CIE is a statewide, public/private collaborative effort to grow new jobs and businesses in Rhode Island’s knowledge economy. RI-CIE connects entrepreneurs, researchers and existing companies to foster information sharing and accelerate the commercialization of ideas. In its first year, RI-CIE has drawn 2, 700 people to over 80 events providing Rhode Island entrepreneurs with information, contacts and services.
“RI-CIE is a cornerstone of the state’s efforts to identify and nurture our future entrepreneurs, to accelerate new business growth and to bring new, high-wage jobs to Rhode Island,” said Keith Stokes, RIEDC Executive Director. “Innovative ideas are clearly there. RI-CIE is helping move those ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace.”
RIEDC received one "Best in Class/Excellent” citation for the 2010 Rhode Island Travel Guide and an “Excellent” recognition for its Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) 21st Century Workforce Commission Report and Recommendations. Three awards of “Merit” were granted for the agency’s Green Economy Roadmap, the Broadband Rhode Island initiative website (http://broadband.ri.gov/) and the RI-CIE website (http://www.ri-cie.org/). The CCRI Commission report and the Green Economy Roadmap are available at www.riedc.com.
“NEDA’s continued recognition of our marketing and communications efforts supports our strategy to effectively communicate numerous economic development programs within Rhode Island,” said Stokes. “As we strive to educate a diverse audience, we will continue to create targeted, innovative and cost-efficient tools to assist all of our clients.”
The NEDA awards recognize strategic communications initiatives aimed at increasing tourism as well as identifying opportunities to retain, expand and relocate businesses in multiple sectors including financial services, information technology, digital media, health and life sciences and the interactive needs of the small business community.
The judges included a NEDA panel of experts in the fields of economic development and marketing drawn from NEDA’s territory (Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont) and all submissions were rated in terms of: design and layout, clarity of message, production quality, functionality, and overall creativity and impact.
About RIEDC
The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) is the full service, official economic development organization for the state of Rhode Island. A quasi-public agency, the Corporation serves as a government and community resource to help streamline the business expansion in, and relocation to, Rhode Island. The agency assists companies with commercial real estate, business financing, workforce training and other relevant issues. www.riedc.com.
About RI-CIE
The RI Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (RI-CIE) is a collaborative, statewide venture to help RI-based entrepreneurs, researchers, and existing companies advance information and the commercialization of ideas. RI-CIE launched in April 2009 to answer calls for more collaborative efforts to boost "knowledge economy" business growth in Rhode Island. RI-CIE is meant to dovetail with city and state efforts underway to strengthening entrepreneurial connectivity and enhance services and offerings to spur innovation and new venture creation in Rhode Island. http://www.ri-cie.org/
About NEDA
Northeastern Economic Development Association (NEDA) is a leading economic development organization in the northeast whose purpose is to provide education, resources, advocacy, and network opportunities for economic development professionals. Founded in 1956, NEDA has promoted professional economic and industrial development throughout the Northeastern United States and its member states collaborate in order to strengthen their local and regional economies and enhance overall quality of life. Through NEDA membership, economic development practitioners, officials, and volunteer leaders develop and perfect their development tools, network with others in the field, and partner regionally to do the work of economic development. www.nedaonline.org.