Partnership for Rhode Island

Building awareness and connections for a transformative statewide opportunity

Services

Public Affairs Communications
Strategic Planning
Media Outreach
Public Relations
Event Planning

The Challenge

In 2022, all states were invited to apply for billions of dollars of transformational federal funding through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Partnership for Rhode Island, a nonprofit CEO roundtable of the state’s largest employers, sought to unite towns, cities, municipalities and organizations across Rhode Island to best position the state for this once-in-a-generation funding opportunity, but needed expert guidance on how to make it happen.

The Solution

The Partnership for Rhode Island partnered with Half Street Group to strategically raise awareness and visibility for CompeteRI, the initiative founded to encourage this vital collaboration across Rhode Island. Half Street worked closely with the Partnership on a comprehensive communications plan to build awareness and buy-in among state entities and officials — and the general public — with the ultimate aim of encouraging participation across Rhode Island and increasing understanding of CompeteRI. 

The Impact

 Half Street developed a strategic plan with targeted media outreach and a large public event, and obtained sustained media placements for CompeteRI to illustrate what could be accomplished for the state through collaboration. CompeteRI successfully partnered with all 39 cities and towns in the state, numerous community organizations and entities, supportive state and local officials, and received positive media coverage from key industry publications. The White House recognized CompeteRI as a national best-practice for obtaining federal funding, and the initiative has worked with more than a dozen similar organizations from across the country.