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Highlights
Goals & Measures
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Technology
SUMMARY
Greater Boston is a global center of technological innovation. Historically, it is the birthplace of new technologies that have reshaped daily life, from the first instant camera and sewing machine, to the first PC software and email, to efforts to make public water drinkable (see:
Innovation: Boston 400 Years of Discovery
). The growth of Greater Boston’s knowledge economy in recent decades is linked to its dense cluster of world-class universities and hospitals and creative class workers, high-tech corporations, and venture capital. The Bay state is on the cutting edge of emerging fields in medical devices and nanotechnology, and Boston is at the forefront of efforts to address the “digital divide” in access to and use of technology. However, competition is quickening around the country and the world in the technological fields in which Greater Boston has excelled. While California has long been considered our biggest competitor, Massachusetts is increasingly challenged to compete with other Leading Technology State (LTS) such as Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia as well as rapidly growing high-tech sectors in Asia, the EU, Russian and Latin America.
CONTEXT
A number of trade organizations and partnerships such as the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, the Life Sciences Collaborative, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and the Massachusetts High Tech Council, among many other, help to shape and coordinate strategies and policies. Massachusetts is the US leader in the proportion of patents given and 54 Nobel Prize winners had been associated with Massachusetts institutions—including six between 2000 and 2006—including powerhouses Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, the University of Massachusetts and 4 of the regions 16 hospitals. Efforts such as the City-trust funded network of more than 40 Timothy Smith Community Technology Centers throughout Greater Roxbury, the Boston Computer Museum’s Computer Clubhouse
(now part of the Museum of Science), and programs such as Technology goes Home—which trains entire families in the use of computer technology and provides free computers—have leveled the technology playing filed in the city considerably. In addition, groups like Common Impact and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) have worked to help smaller nonprofit organizations and community development corporations fully harness the power of new technologies in their daily work. Large corporations, citywide initiatives and community-based programs, such as Year Up and the Organizer’s Collaborative,
provide training and access to the newest technologies. Greater Boston is also becoming a center for open source software exploration and development.
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Greater Boston remains a center of technological innovation and excellence, despite emerging competition.
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Throughout the decade, Greater Boston has remained the 3rd most popular destination for foreign students.
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Boston, Massachusetts, and the United States are lagging in the race toward broadband and wireless access.
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A consensus plan was created for the development of a citywide wireless network in Boston.
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MIT established the New England Energy Innovation Collaborative in 2006.
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The Boston Public Schools (BPS) launched the
LINC III technology plan,
which will use technology to provide new mechanisms for curriculum development.
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Greater Boston’s IT industry has not fully recovered from the 2001 recession.
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High housing costs are detrimental to recruiting and keeping talented workers.
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Smaller and community-based nonprofit organizations—with budgets under $250,000—are challenged to access and afford the latest technologies and related supports.
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| New @ Indicators | Rand Report on US Competitiveness
Rand Corporation,
U.S. Competitiveness in Science and Technology
(06/2008): Reports that while other countries are investing more in science and technology than in the past, the US is still the leader and is keeping pace with its competitors.
Mass Insight IT/Communications/Defense Sector Study
MassInsight,
Sustaining and Enhancing a Leadership Position for Massachusetts in IT, Communications and Defense
(06/2008): Reports that Massachusetts is falling behind other states in the growth of this sector during this decade.
Massachusetts Advanced Biofuels Task Force, "Advanced Biofuels Task Force Report"
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Massachusetts Advanced Biofuels Task Force,
Advanced Biofuels Task Force Report
(04/2008): Provides a strategy for Massachusetts to become a leader in Advanced Biofuels, particularly in the area of research and development.
OECD, "Recent Trend in the Internationalization of R&D in the Enterprise Sectors"
OECD,
Recent Trends in the Internationalization of R&D in the Enterprise Sector
(03/2008): Examines trends in the globalization of research and development funds.
Mass Insight Life Sciences Study
Mass Insight,
Life Sciences in Massachusetts: Forging Connections to Lead in a Changing World
(02/2008): Reports that Massachusetts is well placed to gain from the growth in life sciences, but that it must also adapt to changing conditions including competing clusters.
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, "2007 Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy"
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative,
2007 Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy
(02/2008): This annual analysis of Massachusetts's high-tech economy for the first time compares Massachusetts not only to other US states, but also to high tech regions around the world. While Massachusetts technology economy is strong, it faces new, global competition.
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, "Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Census"
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative,
Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Census
(08/2007): Details the size and growth of Massachusetts' clean energy sector.
Communications Workers of America , "Speed Matters"
Communications Workers of America ,
Speed Matters: A Report on Internet Speeds in all 50 States
(07/07): Reports on a speed test of internet users and highlights 1) the United States has slower internet access speeds than many rivals, including South Korea and Japan, and 2) presents results by state. Massachusetts raked 5th in download speeds, but 24th in upload speeds.
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