SSTI Digest

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) announces the creation of the Innovation Systems Division and a unique economic development initiative, the John Adams Innovation Institute, a vehicle for the state to make strategic investments in its knowledge economy. The Manager, Grants and Business Administration will be a hands-on business professional, responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the John Adams Innovation Institute and serving as the internal expert for grant-making procedures and best practices. The "candidate of choice" will have a demonstrated passion and ability to run a successful grant making enterprise and understand the challenges associated with achieving successful projects in the field. He or she also will have 8-10 years of experience in positions of increasing responsibility that involve management of business activity in the public or non-profit sectors, with significant exposure to the issues surrounding business practice in the management of grant making and monitoring systems. Qualified candidates are encouraged to forward resume and salary…

Janice Bourque, president and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, plans to step down once a replacement has been found.

A quick scan of most state innovation indices and report cards will reveal Massachusetts is on the short list for comparison of what others states would like to achieve. But a leadership spot in the innovation economy is not being taken for granted in the Commonwealth. The dot-com crash and recession hit the state hard, leading Massachusetts Speaker Thomas M. Finneran last summer to recommend that Massachusetts invest more than $100 million toward several tech-based economic development (TBED) initiatives (see the July 11, 2003, issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest). Last September, Gov. Mitt Romney also seemed on board with making a significant TBED investment when he outlined his own $125 million jobs bill (see the Sept. 19, 2003, issue of the Digest). The governor's proposal spread the state's investment over three years. While the two proposals contained several similar elements, politics is a fickle business and two months can be a long time for a Republican governor and a Democratic speaker of the house. The legislature's economic stimulus package passed in…

It's one thing to call your entrepreneurship education efforts the best, but it's another when more than 950 of your peers from around the country do. The entrepreneurship program at Harvard Business School (HBS) recently won the top award for MBA programs nationwide from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), an organization devoted to entrepreneurship education and development. USASBE named Harvard Business School as its National Model MBA Program winner at the organization's annual conference in Dallas on Jan. 17-19. HBS has offered courses in entrepreneurship for more than half a century and counts among its 65,000 graduates some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs. Thirty-one faculty are enrolled in the Entrepreneurial Management unit and another 30 whose work is directly related to entrepreneurship are in other units. The program also requires its 900 first-year students to take the course "The Entrepreneurial Manager," and the school offers nearly 20 elective courses in entrepreneurship to second-year students. The school's Arthur Rock…

A new report from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) finds the federal government’s expanding investment in Homeland Security-related research is already proving a major boon to the high tech economy in Massachusetts, but the state’s overall leadership in federally-funded research and development (R&D) is under intensifying pressure from states throughout the country. The MTC report tracks $3.3 billion in new federal funding for Homeland Security R&D to key industry clusters in Massachusetts and finds the most significant opportunities lie in the life sciences. Recent major grants (e.g. BU National Biocontainment Laboratory and the Harvard Medical School Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research) will strengthen the region’s existing assets in fields related to bio-terrorism defense and the detection, prevention and cure of infectious disease. That's some of the good news in The R&D Funding Scorecard: Federal Investments and the Massachusetts Innovation Economy. MTC's findings also flag a few challenging trends for the…

Robert Pozen, secretary of economic development for Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, announced his resignation, effective at the end of 2003.

The high tech economy of Massachusetts is emerging from the recent recession with its fundamental strengths in science, technology and entrepreneurship in good shape, according to the Executive Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy. Significant innovation in the state’s industries, however, is necessary to make up for the jobs lost since 2000, the index states. Prepared annually by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), the 32-page index shows that while the state’s fundamental strengths are in place, its competitive position as an innovator cannot be taken for granted. The index argues Massachusetts must look for new ways to enhance and improve its climate for innovation, given the accelerating national and international competition in research and development. “The most recent recession and recovery is not as severe as 10 years ago, but leaves Massachusetts in a similar predicament – industries which had been the fastest growing and quickest to hire have taken the hardest fall, leaving some of the state’s most highly qualified workers out of work,” said MTC Executive…

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney appointed Kathy Kottarodis to serve as the state’s first small business advocate. Kottarodis had been director of small business and entrepreneurship within the state’s office of business and technology.

Gov. Mitt Romney outlined a legislative package on Monday totaling $125 million designed to create more jobs. Many elements of the package target the science and technology communities. Romney laid out the details of the jobs bill in a series of meetings with key business, labor and academic leaders, and with members of his Regional Competitiveness Councils, which are all-volunteer boards that guide economic development in different areas of the state. The legislation – to be filed once final input is received – is focused on expanding key businesses, training workers and developing more housing and commercial space. The bill's $125 million price tag is spread over three years. An estimated $50 million of it would be funded by instituting a change that conforms the state’s tax refund practices to Internal Revenue Service time limits. The remainder would be paid for through self-funding mechanisms or non-General Fund sources. Highlights of the bill include: Matching funds for federal research and development grants made to colleges, universities and other entities…

Details on a $110 million initiative to create more jobs and stimulate the Massachusetts economy were released yesterday by Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran and other state leaders. The initiative, Mass Jobs: Investment and Opportunity, is an innovation-friendly plan to streamline government functions and encourage growth in emerging technology through capital formation, regional development, and stability in regulation and taxation. The House proposes to recapitalize these funds from the Health Care Security Trust Fund. The proposal includes: Re-capitalization of the Emerging Technology Fund. Administered by MassDevelopment, this proposal would use targeted financial assistance of $55 million to create new jobs. The majority of these funds would be used for "bricks and mortar" investments that can be targeted specifically on technology-based physical infrastructure, making for a permanent development and manufacturing presence in Massachusetts. John Adams Innovation Enterprise. Administered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, this $40 million…

The Institute for Government Innovations has announced it is accepting applications for the 17th Annual Innovations in American Government Awards, ultimately to identify outstanding examples of creative problem solving in the public sector. Innovations in American Government encompasses all levels of American government, focusing on domestic programs. Innovations that arise within defense and international agencies are eligible if they have significant domestic policy content, such as job training, base conversion, procurement reform, energy conservation or environmental protection. Weapons systems will not be considered. The awards cycle consists of four rounds, which will result in 15 finalists. Five winners will be selected in May 2004 to receive $100,000 each. All units of government in the U.S. – federal, state, local, tribal and territorial – are eligible for recognition and awards under the following guidelines: Programs must be administered under the authority of one or more governmental entities. Program must receive at least half of their funding from one or…

Most practitioners who have been in the tech-based economic development field long enough know the presence of a strong research university can make the job much easier. New innovations and technologies to commercialize through licensing and spinoff companies, research facilities and experts to partner with local companies, and a constant supply of fresh graduates for the workforce are just a few of the benefits a research institution can offer the local and regional economy. Imagine, then, the benefits – and challenges – of having a cluster of research universities conducting more than $1.5 billion worth of research annually in one area, approximately 97 percent of which is funded by federal and other non-local sources. The infusion of so much scientific and engineering activity should help any community weather the current economic crisis and be positioned for the next boom. The challenge for public policy makers and local tech-based economic development programs would be to minimize the export of so much opportunity. A new report reveals the eight largest academic research…