Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Tech; Economic Stimulus II Hearing; Testimony of Chris Anderson, MHTC

Testimony of Christopher R. Anderson, President
Massachusetts High Technology Council, Inc.
September 13, 2005


Thank you, Chairman Hart and Chairman Bosley for the opportunity to discuss how state government can help provide a stimulus to our economy and make Massachusetts more competitive for the long term.

The Massachusetts High Technology Council was formed in 1977 by high tech CEOs whose mission was to help make Massachusetts the most competitive state in which to create, operate, and expand high tech businesses. That remains our mission today. Council members employ hundreds of thousands of skilled workers in all of Massachusetts’s key technology sectors, including computer hardware, life sciences, software, medical products, semiconductor, and telecommunications. Our board includes the executive leadership of tech employers such as Boston Scientific, EMC, Dynamic Research, Genzyme, Teradyne and Thermo Electron.

I know that many of us are pleased that football season has returned, even if we have to endure countless references to the Patriots in the public policy forum. But I am going to go ahead and make one anyway, because I think there is an apt lesson in how the Patriots conduct game strategy and how it relates to Massachusetts’ competitive position.

The Patriots are successful not only because they have a great big game quarterback and a dominant defensive line. The Patriots have become a dynasty because they approach each game trying to take away what their opponent does best rather than merely exploiting a team’s weaknesses.

While this is a unique approach for the NFL, this strategy is commonplace in the national and international competition for economic opportunities and talent retention and recruitment. What Massachusetts industries do other states and countries covet? Our citrus industry? Our automotive manufacturers? No, they want to take away what we do best: research and development based activity from across our diverse technology economy. And especially in recent years they are unabashedly working to poach our employers, star researchers and innovation workforce.

What do we do? For starters we need to give the Romney Administration – and future governors – the resources to go on the offensive by aggressively marketing the state and landing new employers. Both the Governor and House have recommended boosting the state’s sales force, which because of limited resources has become a real liability to Massachusetts. The MORE Jobs Partnership Fund ($100MM bond) makes sense because it provides resources to help employers grow or locate in Massachusetts.

In addition, we need to explore what we can do to make Massachusetts more competitive in the future.

In 2002, the Council joined with MassInsight and other groups to create the Science & Technology Initiative, which was formed to create a technology-based economic development strategy for the state. This helped lead to the passage of the 2003 Economic Stimulus package – the first time ever that the state invested in science and technology.

As this committee works with the Administration to cobble together the next economic stimulus bill, we hope that you will give strong consideration to the following areas of interest to technology employers:

Recapitalize the Research Center Matching Fund – This was the top Council priority and is by far the biggest success of the first Economic Stimulus package. With just over $11 million of these funds committed, the state has landed more than $45 million in federal matching grants and private investment. This is a tremendous return on taxpayer funds and certainly warrants significant renewed investment by the state. This also helps meet another Council goal of boosting the University of Massac