RHODE ISLAND INVENTIONINDEX | APRIL 2025

April 2025: 2.18% (A+ grade)

Rhode Island inventionINDEX April 2025: 2.18% (A+ grade)

The inventionINDEX measures innovation output by comparing GDP growth with patent production growth. 

Anything over C grade is positive sentiment; anything under C is negative outlook/sentiment. Using that sentiment, it is possible to observe trends over time, and also compare states/countries. In doing so, we can predict which states have the best chance to recover economically from the pandemic (or any other economic incident that may occur).

Rhode Island inventionINDEX – 6-Month Comparative Analysis

Over the past six months, Rhode Island’s inventionINDEX has shown a generally upward trend, culminating in a notable peak of 2.18% in April 2025. This marks a significant rebound from the March 2025 dip to 1.43%, which had been the lowest point in this period. The increase suggests renewed momentum in innovation activity, possibly driven by increased R&D funding, academic collaboration, or policy shifts favoring intellectual property generation.

The February 2025 score of 2.10% also stands out, closely rivaling April’s high, indicating a strong start to Q1. These elevated figures may reflect a successful winter season for patent filings, tech incubators, or university-led projects. The consistency in scores around or above the 1.5% mark for December 2024 and January 2025 also signals stability in innovation output during typically slower months.

Higher inventionINDEX scores are positively correlated with economic dynamism, attracting investment, startups, and skilled labor to the region. They also suggest a healthy innovation pipeline, which can enhance competitiveness and regional growth. Increased scores often lead to more licensing deals and commercialization of new technologies.

Conversely, a lower score—like that in March—can raise concerns about innovation fatigue, reduced research activity, or bureaucratic bottlenecks. Prolonged dips may deter venture capital and limit academic-industry partnerships. While temporary declines are expected, sustained low scores could indicate systemic issues that require policy or institutional intervention.

Discussion:

In April, the Rhode Island inventionINDEX scored a positive sentiment which was higher than the previous year’s average and outperformed the downward trend for the year. This is similar to the prior 12 months, which experienced a considerable downward trend. 

As the economy continues to stabilize in the post-pandemic era, it remains uncertain whether any backlog of applications still exists or if the department has returned to normal processing timelines. The inventionINDEX could also be affected by lingering consequences from the pandemic, such as company closures, reduced workforces, and limited R&D capabilities, which may still be impacting current operations.

Learn More:

Are you thinking of patenting any of your bright ideas? Did you know your research work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please check out our free online eligibility test.

Swanson Reed’s Rhode Island office provides R&D tax credit consulting and advisory services to Providence, Warwick, Cranston, Pawtucket, and East Providence.

Feel free to book a quick teleconference with one of R&D tax specialists at a time that is convenient for you, if you would like to learn more about R&D tax credit opportunities.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is the largest Specialist R&D tax credit advisory firm in the United States. With offices nationwide, we are one of the only firms globally to exclusively provide R&D tax credit consulting services to our clients. We have been exclusively providing R&D tax credit claim preparation and audit compliance solutions for over 30 years.

Swanson Reed hosts daily free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/free-webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.