Posted by:
Secretary Gregory Bialecki, Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
On October 27th, Governor Patrick convened nearly 150 business and non-profit leaders, along with state and local officials, for a day-long Economic Summit at the Boston Federal Reserve Bank to discuss how Massachusetts can best accelerate its path towards economic recovery, and collaborate on solutions to the state's challenges.
The summit was organized in collaboration with former Boston Federal Reserve President and Chairwoman of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors Cathy Minehan, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University Barry Bluestone and Boston Federal Reserve President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Rosengren, and the staff here at the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. The Governor also assembled a planning committee comprised of leaders from a variety of sectors and regions across the state to develop and lead the summit’s comprehensive agenda.
During the summit, we reviewed a series of public-private initiatives launched under the Patrick Administration to advance the state's economic development, including the
Holyoke High Performance Computing Center,
Mass Challenge start-up competition, the
“It’s All Here” marketing campaign, and
BuyMass.org.
We then separated into three working groups to identify further opportunities for collaborative initiatives, with a focus on matters that could make a meaningful difference in the path of our recovery over the next eighteen months. By day's end, a strong consensus was reached that significant progress could be made by collaborative efforts to:
- Compete for Federal Funding (Stimulus and Otherwise), with a focus on areas in which local public and private efforts are well-aligned with current Obama Administration and Congressional priorities.
- Improve Access to Capital & Advice for Small Businesses, with an emphasis on small businesses with significant growth potential.
- Clear the Way for Business Expansion, by reducing or eliminating government or other obstacles that might inhibit businesses from expanding their facilities and hiring new workers.
In each case, summit participants agreed to continue to pursue each of these objectives through to concrete outcomes. I will continue to report on that progress through this blog.
In addition, upon the recommendation of Lt. Governor Tim Murray, we will also be working in collaboration with partners all over the state to hold a series of follow-up regional economic summits to ensure that the Administration’s efforts are inclusive and encourage regional development in all parts of the Commonwealth.
I encourage you to continue to stay engaged in the work and results of the Economic Summit here on our innovation blog.
Thank you
Secretary Greg Bialecki
