The Boston Globe ran an article yesterday on Rhode Island and its emergence as a hub for tech and innovation. Check it out. Rhode Island in general, and our partners the Business Innovation Factory, has certainly proven its agility and ability in terms of innovation and new ways of thinking. Many of the things being done in Rhode Island are great models for how cities and regions can embrace next generation ways of thinking and doing.

In the words of Saul Kaplan, executive director of BIF:

Now, the smallest state is trying to position itself as an entrepreneurial hub, offering tax incentives and playing off its location between New York and Boston, its size, its universities, and Providence’s urban renaissance.

This is central to our economic development strategy – we’re trying to create an innovation economy,” said Saul Kaplan, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. “The whole state is 1,000 square miles with 1 million people in it and we all know each other – in an innovation economy, that’s a huge ad vantage. Connecting the dots across sectors and silos is what innovation is all about, and we have the perfect real world test bed.

Our work with BIF has been inspiring and rewarding. Check out our seminar on March 27th and keep an eye out for their annual innovation summit in October. It is one of the best events of its kind.

Join Dan Buchner, Vice President of Innovation and Design and designers from Continuum for this one-day workshop — an interactive journey into the world of design thinking. Through short lectures and fast moving and interactive work sessions, Continuum’s designers will take you through the design thinking process from concept to realization.

March 27, 2008
8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
Business Innovation Factory
315 Iron Horse Way, Suite 101
Providence, RI 02908

Click here to register.