Metro Boston, home of the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other centers of technological innovation and excellence, is now an established powerhouse in technology, serving as an engine for both high-tech innovation and jobs. Largely due to Metro Boston’s preeminence as a technology center, Massachusetts is currently considered to be among the nation’s Leading Technology States:
As several local reports have noted, however, Metro Boston and Massachusetts’ rankings, based largely on the growth spurt in software, telecommunications and biotech in the 1990s, are no guarantee of future success. Other cities and regions around the US are poised to attract workers, jobs, and businesses.
In this respect, Metro Boston and Massachusetts’ position nationally mirrors that of the United States internationally. The Milken Institute reported in 2002 that the United States is uniquely positioned for success in the 21st century with research and development expenditures that exceed the combined total of Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and Italy. At the same time, other nations are increasing their investment in both infrastructure and education. In 1999, the United Nations Human Development Program ranked the US as the lead exporter of high-tech products, but second to Finland in the Technology Achievement Index as measured by technology creation, diffusion of innovation, and human skills. It also ranked the US as sixth in the Technology Creation Index as measured by mean years of schooling, R&D expenditures and the per capita number of scientists/engineers.
Boston, Metro Boston, Massachusetts and the United States are under intense pressure from competitors for a share of the New Economy. Public policy and private investment decisions made over the next few years may well determine our relative ranking for decades to come.
Metro Boston rose in international importance in the biotechnology industry, according to “Mass High Tech Reports,” following the announcement in 2002 that the Swiss company Novartis AG will open a $260 million research center in Kendall Square, adding 215,000 square feet to its campus and hiring 100 new employees. Merck Research Laboratories is building a 26-lab research campus near Boston's Fenway neighborhood that will employ 300 scientists. These giants add to an industry already firmly rooted in Metro Boston, especially Cambridge.
Boston leads the way among comparable cities in the number of community-based technology training and public access technology centers, according to a preliminary study by Abt Associates. As of late 2002, there were 115 community technology centers in schools, libraries and special community tech centers throughout the city, with a disproportionate number in Boston's low-income communities. This is up from about 100 in 2000.
Contrary to popular perception, layoffs in large technology companies such as Lucent and Sycamore were more than offset by hiring in companies with fewer than 250 employees. Employment in the Massachusetts telecom industry grew by almost 30% between 1998 and 2002 to a total of 131,790 persons, according to the Boston Globe, 11/18/2002.
In response to the demand for technology skills, the state's community and four-year colleges developed new IT programs in line with an incremental "career ladder approach" to ensure the availability of training at each "rung" of potential advancement. Likewise, the past two years have seen a marked proliferation of private-sector tech training centers.
In 2001, Mayor Thomas M. Menino launched LINC (Learning and Information Network for the Community) Boston II, a comprehensive five-year plan to use technology to continue student and adult learning at school, at home, and in the community. By June 2003, LINC Boston II will demonstrate substantive accomplishments including “My BPS,” an innovative intranet for the entire public school community. LINC Boston II goals include: 13,500 new computers to Boston public school classrooms with appropriate curriculum and productivity software; progress on fully networked schools, technology-oriented professional development for teachers and principals: more than 90% of all 4,800 teachers having 50 or more hours of technology training and a computer on their desks; technology integration of Citywide Learning Standards into the curriculum by 1,500 teachers; and a comprehensive technological support system with a Help Desk, Technology Support with stipends for teachers, and over 400 TechBoston student interns placed in internships for summer and afterschool programs.
Boston-area schools are placing increasing emphasis on technology use and technology learning. In 2002, two new schools — Boston's new TechBoston Academy, and Media and Technology Charter High (MATCH) School — opened, offering area students a technology-intensive public education at the high school level. The use of technology is growing in parochial schools as well. In 2002, the Catholic Schools Foundation joined with businesses to raise $40,000,000 for electrical and technology upgrades in Catholic schools and for appropriate teacher training.
Greater Boston's technology infrastructure vastly increased, with the installation of fiber optic cable and the recent roll-out of wireless computer networking for small- and medium-sized businesses in Greater Boston, according to the Boston Globe, 11/21/2002.
Non-profit sector technology support services increased, providing education for technology planning and implementation. These included new services from the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Summit Collaborative, As
