Collaborative Research Grants
The RI Research Alliance was launched with Collaborative Research Grants program in 2007.
With support from Governor Donald Carcieri and the Rhode Island General Assembly, STAC launched the RI Research Alliance effort with a competitive grant program that supports collaborative research and projects well-positioned to attract significant federal investment. To administer the program, STAC uses a competitive application process similar to that used by the National Science Foundation. Applications are evaluated by peer reviewers-scientific experts familiar with a proposal's area of focus-and a subcommittee of STAC members.
In 2007 and 2008, the program awarded approximately $3 million to 17 teams of researchers from 29 research institutions. The funding supported projects to design high-tech toys for children with cerebral palsy, increase the quality of video footage to aid in criminal investigations, and to improve the design of prosthetic limbs. Proof of the catalytic nature of the program was demonstrated by receipt of $1.6 million in follow-on funding from out-of-state sources, and trials that are bringing medical devices and computer imaging technology closer to the marketplace.
Award recipients in 2009 include academic and industry scientists pursuing research in renewable energy, medicine, engineering, chemistry, biology, pharmacology and environmental science. Winning teams include scientists from Bluewater Designworks, Brown University, Electro Standards Laboratories, Narragansett Bay Commission, Nunnery Orthotics, Rhode Island College, Women and Infants Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence VA Medical Center, and the University of Rhode Island.
