Massachusetts Plan Identifies Action Steps for Economic Growth

An economic development policy and strategic plan presented to lawmakers last month identifies several steps for investing in the innovation community to improve the state's competitiveness. To create a robust and supportive environment for new company formation and tech commercialization, the report recommends increasing by 20 percent annually over the next five years state funding for capital and incubator and accelerator programs. The plan, put forth by Economic Development Planning Council under Gov. Deval Patrick, is the latest competitiveness report to promote investments in research, entrepreneurship and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education for economic growth (see the Oct. 26, 2011 issue of the Digest). The report identifies five steps with corresponding action items outlined for each. Steps include advancing education and workforce development for middle-skill jobs; supporting innovation and entrepreneurship; supporting regional development through infrastructure investments; increasing the ease of doing business; and addressing competitiveness. Action steps to strengthen and support the innovation community include: Establish a consistent pattern of state support for collaborative R&D among universities and businesses; Under the leadership of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, identify three to five emerging areas of global innovation excellence in the Commonwealth and support public-private collaborations to accelerate the growth of such areas; and, Increase by 20 percent annually over the next five years state funding of capital, mentoring and advice, including incubator or accelerator programs for early stage businesses. Calling on the state to expand the culture of innovation, the council recommends identifying locally based accelerators in five of the state's Gateway Cities (a group of former industrial Massachusetts mill cities) over the next two years. The accelerators should be supported through a competitive process. The council also recognizes that many innovation companies start in Massachusetts but leave the state as they grow. Measures to support growth to scale include: Increasing by 20 percent annually over the next five years state funding of capital, mentoring and advice, including shared facilities for the making and testing of product prototypes, to support the growth of small and mid-sized businesses; and, Raising the profile of advanced manufacturing as an integral part of the innovation economy by encouraging young people to enter the sector and by facilitating the adopting of local innovation into small and mid-sized manufacturing businesses. The report, Choosing to Compete in the 21st Century: An Economic Development Policy and Strategic Plan for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is available at: http://www.mass.gov/hed/docs/eohed/economicdevpolicystrategy.pdf.