November 2007

  


Volume 30, Number 8
November 2007 

Kamen Keynotes 30th Celebration; New MassTrack Community Rankings Released; Council Leads Charge on Life Sciences Investment and UI Reform

On October 23, the Massachusetts High Technology Council celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a gala dinner featuring addresses from speakers who cast a spotlight squarely on the significance of K-12 teacher quality and innovation. The evening featured remarks from Dean Kamen famed inventor and FIRST founder as well as both the Massachusetts and National Teachers of the Year.

Dean Kamen, delivered a stirring address to Council CEOs on the importance of mentors in science and technology education and the evolution of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) robotics competition from a high school gymnasium contest to a global event.

Dean was preceded by two exceptional teachers, National Teacher of the Year, Andrea Peterson, a music teacher from Granite Falls, Washington and Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, Michael Flynn, a second grade math and science teacher from Southampton.

Peterson anecdotally illustrated the transformative power that teachers can have on the lives of students. She stressed the importance of high standards and expectations in tandem with the expertise of well trained, high quality teachers.

Flynn echoed Peterson's sentiments on standards: "The Mass High Tech Council's education initiative has a focus on 21st century skills in preparing students for the workforce of tomorrow. And who better than you would understand the skills needed to work in the high tech industry? With your collective influence, the Council's education initiative can have a profound impact on the lives of our students."

These powerful messages on the real world need for math and science instruction were reinforced by interactive exhibits from Biogen Idec, Foster-Miller, The U.S. Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center and Boston University Academy high school students and their terrific robot.

Longtime Council President Howard Foley attended along with former Council Chairmen: Bill Thurston, former President of GenRad; Art Goldstein, former Chairman and CEO of Ionics; Steve Levy, former Chairman of BBN Technologies and Bill Foster, former Chairman and CEO of Stratus Computer.

Fund for World Class Schools off to a Great Start

The Fund for World Class Schools is already off to an auspicious start having received generous pre-launch donations from leading technology firms in the state. Council members are encouraged to contribute to its mission to "move the needle" through support of tangible and measurable K-12 initiatives. Support for the fund will lead and leverage the investment of financial resources from other K-12 support sources such as the Boston Foundation.

The Fund is designed to offer partnership and support the implementation of researched methods that have an impact in the classroom and to support programs such as FIRST, the new Mass AP initiative (part of the state's new $13 million grant from Exxon-Mobil), and National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Although created by the High Tech Council, the Fund for World Class Schools will build on the Council's 30 year legacy of results-oriented advocacy in education by making this vehicle available to any employer or individual in Massachusetts who cares about transforming our K-12 education system.

For more information on how to support the Fund for World Class Schools, please contact Daniella DeChristopher at 781.890.6482 x 11 or daniella@mhtc.org.

$1B Life Sciences Bill Debated

This month the Council was back on Beacon Hill discussing Governor Patrick's $1 billion life sciences bill at the bill's initial public hearing. The Council will include legislative votes on the bill in its MassTrack ratings, and offered several suggested changes (broadening the overly narrow tax incentives) in testimony in support of HB 4234: An Act providing for the investment in and expansion of the life sciences industry in the Commonwealth.

The legislation represents the type of investment in infrastructure, R&D and science that spurs innovation and economic growth. Specifically, we support the user fee credit, but believe that both the investment incentive tax credit and Net Operating Loss carry- forwards (NOL) should be applicable to all research and development-intensive technology clusters and that the NOL should be extended to 20 years.

Life sciences is certainly a critical part of the state's technology and science-based economy and, with continued support from the Commonwealth, should continue to grow. But history has shown us that we need to foster a broader spectrum of innovation growth. As such, the Council recommended that the Commonwealth adopt a "Life Sciences-plus" approach to state investment, creating a competitive process that rewards other growth technologies - including hardware, software, communications, defense and clean energy. Specifically, all innovation employers should have access to the same type of tax incentives that have been proposed to benefit the life sciences industry.

The High Tech Council's study A Critical Alliance: the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries in Massachusetts released in May, profiled in great detail the Massachusetts biopharma industry relative to its foreign and domestic competitors and illustrated the ever blurring lines that once delineated the pharmaceutical industry from the biotech industry from the medical devices industry. The "bleed" from one industry sector to another was most notable when we traced the investment. These previously clearly defined sectors had become so interconnected that in some areas they are indistinguishable from one another. In fact the study showed that:

• From 2000-2006, 13 of the leading pharmaceutical firms in Massachusetts invested more than $13.4 billion in 357 alliances with state biotech companies - at least 3X the annual venture capital investment in Massachusetts biotech firms.
• The estimated downstream value of these alliances is an additional $14.7 billion - bringing the potential total long-term value of these alliances to more than $28 billion.

The 2007 legislative session ended on November 21 before any action was taken on the bill, but we expect this to be taken up when the new session begins in January 2008.

Mass Track Municipal Rankings Released

The latest MassTrack (www.masstrack.org) municipal technology rankings released on November 26 showed significant gains for cities and towns that have streamlined their municipal permitting process. Nine of the top 10 MassTrack-ranked municipalities have approved expedited local permitting - also known as chapter 43D - passed by the legislature in 2006.

MassTrack ranks all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns on a range of variables that measure tax policy, workforce strength, and openness to development and growth. Local adoption of 43D was added as one of the 12 variables for the 2007 rankings.

The community information provided through MassTrack brings into focus the competitive priorities of technology employers and employees in 12 core variables, including the density of technology workforce, new housing created, MCAS proficiency, local taxes and environmental permits issued. A full explanation of how the rankings were constructed can be found on the methodology page of www.masstrack.org.

One key goal of MassTrack is to better connect state and local policy around the technology community's priorities to ensure that Massachusetts can become more globally competitive. Many of the top-ranked communities - like #1 Abington - were not known as high-tech hot spots, but showed progress in permitting and other key variables. Last year's rankings leaders, like Hopkinton and Natick, still fared well but slipped out of the top 10 in part because other communities have embraced permitting reform.

MassTrack provides visitors the opportunity to explore interactive, color-coded maps of the state based on the MassTrack ranking and individual variables. A visitor can focus on a specific variable and quickly determine which communities are favorable or unfavorable for that competitive priority. In addition to the variables used for ranking, MassTrack collects other data points of interest to the public.

Both the legislative ranking and municipal assessment system are scientifically weighted and more proactive than other legislative scorecards. The weights of the votes are tied directly to the Council's annual CEO survey, which sets the Council's agenda each year. Council staff work to identify and publicize upcoming MassTrack votes so legislators understand how that issue will impact their overall rating.

2007 MassTrack Municipal Rankings

Top 10 Overall Ranking