Rules and Regulations for the Industry Cluster Grants Program

Regulation Authority:

42-64.29-1

Purpose and Reason:

The Rules implement the newly-enacted Industry Cluster Grant program, which is designed to provide grants that improve the effectiveness of industry clusters in Rhode Island. A cluster is defined as a concentration of companies and/or industries that share common supply chains, markets, technology competencies or knowledge, and/or workforce needs. There are two types of grants: an implementation grant, which provides between $100,000 and $500,000 for a well-defined program to improve a cluster’s effectiveness in one or more specific areas, including, but not limited to, research and development, technology transfer, workforce development, or cluster marketing; and technical assistance grants, which provide between $75,000 and $250,000, for a project that (i) builds an organization with the purpose of improving a cluster’s effectiveness or (ii) consists of planning or feasibility studies for projects that could provide a benefit to a cluster. An applicant can be a trade association, nonprofit entity, or research center. An applicant can also be a for-profit entity, provided that the applicant is acting on behalf of the cluster and demonstrates that the benefits of its project will be widespread within the cluster. In response to a comment, the text of Rule 3 has changed from the version published in the register to provide greater specificity to the board process described in that provision.