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MA Considers $918M Investment in Five-Year Economic Development Push

April 14, 2016

Massachusetts legislators are debating the future of Gov. Charlie Baker’s $918 million economic development proposal, including investments in local infrastructure, emerging technologies, community-based innovation, brownfields cleanup, Gateway Cities development and workforce development. The proposal would implement several of the action items from Baker’s economic strategic plan, issued last November, over the next five years. About half of the funds would support local infrastructure projects, but other investments would bolster the Massachusetts’ Manufacturing Innovation Institutes, university tech commercialization and innovative co-working spaces.

H. 3983, An Act to Provide Opportunities for All, is currently under consideration by the legislature’s Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. Funding for the effort would require some borrowing and allocations from the capital budget, but would attempt to tap public-private partnerships and federal sources for non-state support. The proposed investments have been tailored to encourage development outside the Boston metropolitan area, boosting economic progress through infrastructure, site readiness and equity investments in the state’s Transformative Development Initiative districts.

The largest investment directly targeting the innovation economy is a $118 million capital authorization for matching grants to the state’s institutes within the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). Last week, Cambridge was named as the site for Massachusetts’ third Manufacturing Innovation Hub, accelerating research into revolutionary fibers and textiles for the Department of Defense. The hub joins two existing institutes located in Massachusetts that support photonics and flexible-hybrid electronics research. These, and any future institutes, are eligible for state grants under the state’s targeted support program.

Other innovation-related investments include $25 million for the Scientific and Technology Research and Development Matching Grant Fund and the Innovation Infrastructure Fund. The R&D grants would fund nonprofit, university-led research collaboratives commercializing new technologies. The other program is a new fund that provides grants to develop community-based innovation spaces, such as co-working centers, maker spaces and art studios.

In addition, $75 million in new funding would be provided for Workforce Skills Capital Grants, which cover training equipment to improve workforce pipelines.

Outside of new funds, the legislation would also instruct state agencies to change the nature of their contracts with regional economic development organizations. Regional development nonprofits would be asked to focus on regional systems and strategic local clusters rather than business assistance. The formulas for the state’s Economic Development Incentive Program would also be simplified.

Read the governor’s announcement of the legislation at: http://www.mass.gov/governor/press-office/press-releases/fy2016/administration-files-economic-development-legislation.html.

 

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