Rhode Island has embarked on an economic investment strategy that might put the squeeze on state coffers in the short term but should ultimately position the state to grow its economy in an increasingly competitive, global environment.

That assessment was recently offered by C. Michael Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, a nonprofit organization that has blazed a trail for states investing in scientific research as a means of economic development.

“It was a decade for us. I don’t think it should be that long for you,” Cassidy said in an interview with Providence Business News.