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Alarm Sounds for New Massachusetts S&T Strategy

October 19, 2001
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"If technology is at the core of the Innovation Economy, then investment in research and development is one of the principal drivers in the creation of that technology."



The sentence, lifted from the new Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) report, Maintaining the Innovation Edge: The Case for Creating a Massachusetts Science and Technology Strategy, is valid for the entire country but rings especially true for the Commonwealth, a perennial leader in R&D investment and innovation. Past MTC research reveals innovation is at heart of nine key industry clusters in the Commonwealth. In fact, 25 percent of the state's total employment is tied directly to technological innovation.



Written by MTC Director of Federal Programs Bob Kispert, Maintaining the Innovation Edge scrutinizes R&D funding in the state over the past decade and unveils some unsettling trends for the future growth and stability of the Massachusetts economy:

  • The Massachusetts federal R&D portfolio is becoming potentially too concentrated in life sciences, whereas historically a strong balance has been maintained between defense research and life sciences.
  • Federal support for Bay State research, traditionally distributed almost evenly across industrial, defense lab and academic performers, is now heavily concentrated in universities and hospital research centers. 
  • Massachusetts, while continuing to be in the top 10 states for federal R&D support received, is losing market share to other states as they become more technologically competitive. The report credits some of this loss to the the concerted efforts and "effective" tech-based economic development programs of some rising states.

Looking additionally at trends in university enrollment, research outside the life sciences, and competing states, Maintaining the Innovation Edge issues a strong call to action for the Massachusetts science and technology community to create a comprehensive S&T strategy that reinforces the state's economic development goals. The planning effort, Kispert suggests, should focus on three elements of the state's system of innovation: S&T investment, infrastructure, and linkages for technology transfer and commercialization.



The report and more information about the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is available at: http://www.mtpc.org

Massachusetts