ne of the important drivers of the Massachusetts innovation economy has been the medical device industry sector. With more than 250 companies, this sector has expanded rapidly in the last decade. Its total impact on the Massachusetts economy is $7.3 billion and 36,000 jobs, according to a 2004 study by the University of Massachusetts.

The success of the medical device industry, however, has not benefited all the regions of the Commonwealth equally. Places like Fall River, which one hundred years ago was the largest manufacturer of cotton textiles in the United States and Leominster, which is the self-proclaimed plastics capital of the world, can play a critical role in the growth of our knowledge and technology-based innovation economy. Traditional manufacturing-based regions bring enormous capacity and quality to the New Economy.

The John Adams Innovation Institute, the economic development arm of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, created its Regional Fund to invest in opportunities for success throughout the Commonwealth, marrying the skill sets of the regional economic base with the greatest potential for growth.

The Innovation Institute has been working in collaboration with the Regional Competitiveness Councils, or RCCs, to help identify projects and opportunities for investment in seven distinct geographic regions. Through the Regional Fund, competitive “regional priority” grants are being made to not-for-profit agencies, technology centers and local and regional economic development groups.

Unlike traditional economic development “categorical grant” programs, the Regional Fund is designed to recognize and act upon good ideas in collaboration with local stakeholders. By design, the Innovation Institute is prepared to support the best ideas and opportunities for economic growth in regions across the state.

In June 2005, the first grant awards by the John Adams Innovation Institute’s Regional Fund have focused on how the predominantly Boston-area-based medical device industry sector can draw upon the technical expertise in other regions of the Commonwealth, including North Central and Southeastern Massachusetts.

The first investment is a $50,000 award to MassMEDIC, the state trade association serving the medical device industry. The association will reach out to and engage with more than 50 plastics/injection molding companies in North Central Massachusetts, helping to position them to become suppliers for the Commonwealth’s medical device industry. Working with these companies, MassMEDIC will conduct training and workshops on regulatory requirements and standards in the medical device industry.

As part of this effort, MassMEDIC will also publish the first-ever supplier directory that lists Massachusetts-based suppliers, including a special section devoted to the plastics/injection molding industries in North Central Massachusetts, in cooperation with the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s in our own best interest to create a network of local suppliers who can provide the custom-made plastic parts of medical devices.” said Thomas J. Sommer, President of MassMEDIC. “The plastics/injection molding industry of North Central Massachusetts can serve as a valuable ‘natural’ resource for the Massachusetts medical device industry.”

The second investment, an award of $79, 645 to the Advanced Technology Manufacturing Center, a subsidiary of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, is targeted to assist in the development of a prototype of a new bio-sensor that can be used in both the medical device industry and marine industry sectors. Several companies, including YSI Environmental, JPSA Laser, and Waters Corporation, have indicated support for the project. ATMC has also obtained more than $68,000 in matching support.

The money will be used to upgrade ATMC’s micro-machining capability, offer product development assistance to small- and medium-sized medical device companies who are making bio-sensors, and sponsor a regional conference to attract potential new industry to the region.

Through this highly focused, strategic effort, ATMC’s goal is to support the growth of existing small medical device companies in Southeastern Massachusetts and, at the same time, attract new investment and corporate activity in the region.

What kinds of proposals is the
Innovation Institute looking to support?

“We are looking to invest in projects that build upon the economic strengths of regions and enhance the competitiveness of industry sectors throughout the Commonwealth,” said Susan K. Moulton, Director of Regional Programs at the Innovation Institute.  “From Cape Cod to the Berkshires, from Worcester to Gloucester, we're looking to grow the innovation economy region by region, sector by sector.”

Here are some of the ideas that have been proposed and are now under consideration:

	A regional technology council is looking to improve the competitiveness of knowledge-based firms through its original approach to deploying broadband in the region. The goal is to help local technology companies expand their businesses into new markets and create more favorable conditions for new business formation in the region.
	A not-for-profit business incubator would like to strengthen its regional life sciences industry cluster by establishing a “bio-informatics center” to assist the competitiveness of firms in the region.
	An affinity group of artistic, cultural and technology entrepreneurs wants to integrate activities in ways that improve the creative economy and enhance business formation and growth in the region.
	A regional economic development organization would like to work with emerging environmental technology firms to help organize capital, technology transfer and business services in the region.
	An economic development agency is working with local technology firms considering establishment of “transitional manufacturing space.”  This space would increase speed to market by providing companies affordable “proof-of-concept” work for new products.

Each of these projects is under various stages of refinement.  The Innovation Institute looks for projects with clearly defined outcomes that build upon the economic strengths of a region.  Each project must have demonstrated regional support and must be sustainable within a foreseeable period of time.

For more information on the Innovation Institute's Regional Programs, please contact Susan K. Moulton at: moulton@masstech.org