Liz Tanner
​Executive Vice President- Client Services
Rhode Island Commerce Corporation

​​Q. What is this Lean Training and Municipality Initiative I hear about?

A. While Commerce RI has been working hard to improve customer service at the state level, they have also been working hard to provide resources to municipalities. The Rhode Island Municipality Initiative seeks to eliminate the complex burdens on small businesses when registering or licensing with their local municipality. The end goal is to have a single application and a streamlined registration process to open a small business and/or license a business in a municipality.
Results examples:

1. Reduction in the amount of forms used
2. Reduction in the amount of time it takes to register a business
3. Credit card and email usage
4. Elimination of Council approvals

Example from Pawtucket to open a restaurant: Was 45+ days to open, now 25 or less; was 11
forms, now 4 forms and was 11 different visits to City Hall and now it is ZERO!

The following communities have streamlined their business registration and licensing process:

• Bristol
• Central Falls
• East Greenwich
• East Providence
• Little Compton
• North Kingstown
• North Providence
• North Smithfield
• Pawtucket
• Portsmouth
• Warwick
• West Warwick
• Woonsocket
• Warren

For more information, visit www.commerceri.com or contact Charlene Bouthillette at
[email protected].

Upcoming Events & Deadlines:
• March 22-23: Department of Defense Northeast Regional Council Training & Matchmaking
More information and registration: http://www.ribusinessmatch2017.org/

The Ease of E-Permitting
By Liz Tanner
Executive Vice President- Client Services
Rhode Island Commerce Corporation 
          
Q. What is all this e-Permitting stuff about?
 
A. The Rhode Island Statewide e-Permitting Initiative strives to offer an effective, affordable, user designed platform for online permitting. Some of the features of the system include:

• Convenient self-service: Applications and payments may be submitted online at any time of the day, and permits may be received electronically and printed out as soon as they are  approved.
• Transparency: Processing status is tracked step-by-step, giving applicants visibility into not only where their application is in the process, but the name of the actual employee working on it.
• Contractor validation: Applicants and government officials won't need to question the validity of licensed/registered     professional credentials. The system validates against databases at the Contractors Registration Board, Department of Labor and Training, Department of Business Regulation and Department of Health.
•  Workload Management: Governmental bodies can collect   information related to a permit application in one place, track progress across multiple applications simultaneously, and assign tasks to achieve higher levels of efficiency and service for the public.
• Collaboration and Consistency: The State has partnered with Rhode Island municipalities to design and implement the same platform for online permitting, providing a more comprehensive solution and allowing both levels of government to benefit from economies of scale both in system cost and implementation timelines.

 
Are you interested in learning more about e-Permitting for your community? Please contact Shawn Selleck at [email protected] or visit www.permits.ri.gov.