The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce says it can change that by marketing the city as more business hub than Boston suburb.

In November, the group hired the Washington, D.C., consulting firm New Economy Strategies to study the city’s business climate and recommend ways to retain college graduates, encourage collaborations among businesses, hospitals and universities and support start-up companies...

...The results of the study are not expected until early March. But officials involved in the four-month, $132,500 project provided details to The Providence Journal yesterday, describing it as a bold attempt to expand the city’s tax base, add private-sector jobs and arrest the state’s population decline...

...So far, at least, the chamber is being supported by Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, Lifespan, CB Richard Ellis and a collection of other businesses, schools and nonprofit groups. The knowledge-based industries they are studying include biotechnology, digital media, information technology and financial services.