By Darnell Dunn
Last fall, Governor Healey signed an Executive Order creating the Governor’s Advisory Council on Competitiveness to advise her on ways to drive economic growth and strengthen the state’s business climate.
Massachusetts is home to some of the world’s leading companies, higher educational institutions, health care system and talent worldwide. The strength and resiliency of our foundation has yielded durable results.
One of the wealthiest states in the country with per capita incomes that land around 130 percent of the national average, Massachusetts regularly ranks near the top of quality-of-life metrics and boasts some of the nation’s most robust social programs.
These elements form the bedrock of our economic and social foundation yet given the very real challenges confronting the State, it’s fair to say that we have water in the basement.
More Massachusetts residents than ever are spending more than 30% of their income on housing, we pay some of the highest utility rates in the country, and the cost and availability make childcare out of reach for a growing number of families.
These expenses disproportionately impact adults aged 26-44, an age cohort that is choosing to leave Massachusetts at higher rates than any other demographic. From the standpoint of economic competitiveness, this is an age group we can ill afford to lose.
Co-chaired by President & Co-Founder of the Harpoon Brewery and Worcester native Dan Kenary, and Mark Nunnelly, Chairman of Toolbox Holdings and Foundation and former Managing Director of Bain Capital, the Council is tasked with advising the Governor on issues relating to taxation, business incentives, workforce development, and other related factors that affect economic competitiveness across the Commonwealth.
The group was first convened as a group in early December to discuss thescope of work, and a timeline to provide the Governor and the team at the Secretariat of Economic Development with a list of recommendations to address the most acute challenges.
Our most recent quarterly meeting took place on Wednesday, April 15th where eight new appointees to the council were introduced, a research report from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association regarding the current state of the economy was presented and discussed, followed by presentations from the co-captains of each subcommittee which highlighted the opportunities, challenges, and area to be validated by further research. Between the December and April meetings, the Innovation, Industry Sectors & Business Growth subcommittee, the subcommittee on which I sit, we spent most of our time discussing cross-sector opportunities to promote growth and innovation across the Commonwealth.
In thinking of how to form our recommendations such that they are both regionally equitable and economically actionable, the subcommittee formulated the following questions:
- Is the state organized to proactively drive business expansion, retention, and attraction at a competitive level with leading states?
- Are we measuring what actually matters—jobs created, companies scaled, capital attracted, and talent retained? Do state agencies outside of EOED consistently consider the ROI of critical initiatives?
- Are our quasi-public agencies delivering the highest possible return across the full company lifecycle?
- Are our education and workforce investments translating into in-state employment, wage growth, and employer satisfaction?
These questions will guide us over the next 12 weeks in preparation for submission of the subcommittee’s final of recommendations to be presented to the full council for review in July. Stay tuned for more updates.
