Because Rhode Island finds it difficult to compete with larger states’ low tax rates and living costs, many of the top thinkers in business and academia say the state needs to position itself as an incubator for new products and technologies. And the state must retain more of its top graduates to make this happen.

One of these is Jr Neville Songwe, 31, originally from Camaroon, who recently graduated from RISD's industrial design program with a master's degree. Though he is fielding job offers from Asia, he wants to stay in Rhode Island and grow a design firm if he can find the resources to develop his latest police car project.

So far, leaders in the state have stepped up to help Songwe. RISD President Roger Mandle has promoted the police car project since it was first proposed in 2004, introducing him to Providence Police Chief Col. Dean Esserman, who donated a Ford Crown Victorian for Songwe’s prototype.

Still, Songwe said his company needs development dollars to bring his design for the cab of police cars to the market. [Dean of the College of Business at URI Edward] Mazze estimated that $400,000 would cover the cost of developing a functioning model of the design – which aims to give police easier and safer access to computers and other communication systems in their patrol cars.

[Mazze said,] “I could easily see this business employing up to 100 people, working directly for [Songwe] on the design side and the assembly side.”