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“MassEcon serves as a key member of our state’s sales force and plays a leadership role in marketing Massachusetts as a competitive business location.” Governor Deval Patrick Our Work The Massachusetts Alliance for Economic Development – now MassEcon - is a private, non-profit partnership of business and government dedicated to promoting Massachusetts as a competitive business location. We are passionate about the assets of the Commonwealth, and we want to ensure that business stays, grows, and thrives here. To that end, MassEcon markets Massachusetts by providing information services to companies seeking to expand within or relocate to the Commonwealth. Our Site Finder Service, Research & Information Service, and Ambassadors network offer companies critical decision-support as they evaluate Massachusetts as a place to locate and grow their business. Our job is to provide expanding companies with: The sites that meet their needs The research and information to help them make the location decision The links to resources and people to help close the deal Finding sites, of course, is not exclusively about real estate. Our expertise, cross-state connections, and depth of experience provides our client companies with high-value information on our regions, our labor force and our business climate – all critical elements of a well-informed location decision. We at MassEcon are committed to telling the Massachusetts story in full, and working with our partners to ensure that the Commonwealth’s economic development efforts are robust and effective. Dear Friends: It is our pleasure to report to you on the efforts and accomplishments of MassEcon for 2008, our fifteenth anniversary year. As we reflect on our formation in 1993, we begin by acknowledging the foresight of our found- ing members in recognizing the unique role a public-private partnership can play in promoting Massachusetts as a place to do business. MassEcon has grown from a consortium of utility companies to become an alliance of multiple industry sectors, trade and industry associations, the public sector, and regional and local economic development organizations – all joined by the vision of the original founders. This vision is grounded in the belief that an economic development culture must be institution- alized. In this spirit, MassEcon is proud to have worked with five gubernatorial administrations and to have delivered services over a period marked by both extraordinary growth and sober- ing recession. The payoff of increased jobs and investment in the state can only result from a steady, focused effort, and we are grateful to our members for supporting MassEcon over time. Over the fifteen year period, MassEcon’s work, in concert with state and local partners, resulted in over 40,000 jobs being added or retained in the Commonwealth. During 2008, over 112 companies planning for future growth relied on MassEcon’s services to evaluate the Commonwealth as a location for expansion or relocation. This was a hard Susan Houston year. The recession dampened the expansion plans of many companies, and only five of the Executive Director 112 companies we served made expansion decisions. Nevertheless, our services form a core part of the economic development arsenal that must be maintained through both fair and foul economic times. Our progress over the year reflects the efforts of a team that includes public officials, Cham- bers of Commerce, industry and trade associations, the business community, state and local economic development professionals, and our dedicated corps of members. We are fortunate to work with so many capable parties who are engaged in promoting the assets of Massachu- setts. Looking ahead, as we move toward economic recovery, it is essential that Massachusetts be poised to capture its fair share of growth. Retaining and attracting business requires an organized effort of an informed and creative economic development team. Having worked in partnership with five gubernatorial administrations, MassEcon is proud to bring a consistent, non-partisan voice to the enterprise. We thank our members and partners for making our work possible. We also thank Michael DiGiano, immediate past Chair, for his superb advocacy and strategic insights, and for laying the foundation for 2008. Girard Sargent Chairman Sincerely, Susan Houston Girard Sargent Executive Director Chairman Results In conjunction with state and local partners, MassEcon worked with 112 companies that were considering Massachusetts as an expansion location in 2008. While companies new to Massachusetts are important customers of MassEcon, our resources are firmly committed to supporting existing Massachusetts companies. In fact, 58 percent of MassEcon’s customers during 2008 came from within the Commonwealth. By the Numbers Meet the Companies Alternative Energy Biotechnology Data/Call Centers Distribution Diverse Manufacturing Food Production & Distribution Information Technology Medical Devices Other 0 5 10 15 20 25 “MassEcon has consistently been a solid resource for identifying site options for our clients. Not only do they excel in this area of support, but they understand impor- tant business issues that will impact our clients. Because of the services and staff at MassEcon, we truly enjoy working in Massachusetts.” Will Hearn Principal, CH2M Hill Connections MassEcon as Convener MassEcon offers its members a variety of opportunities to gain additional insights into top- ics of interest and importance to the business community in the Commonwealth. In the past “MassEcon has proven year, these opportunities included hearing speakers such as Dr. Alan Clayton-Matthews of to be extremely UMass who presented the outlook for the Massachusetts economy; Dr. Susan Windham- effective in bringing Bannister, President and CEO, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, who gave together the diverse an overview of the newly formed Life Science Center and the role it will play in economic development; and Dr. Barry Bluestone, Director, Center for Urban and Regional Policy at regions of the state Northeastern University, who discussed his study Staying Power on the state of the under a unified Team manufacturing industry in the Commonwealth. Massachusetts umbrella.” Regional and Local Partnerships MassEcon’s corporate members from the regional and local economic development commu- nity immeasurably add to the ability to promote the assets of all regions of the state. Working Allan Blair together with MassEcon, these organizations are instrumental in educating decision-makers President and CEO about the benefits of growing businesses in their areas. MassEcon staff, in turn, provides Economic Develop- resources to its local and regional partners. This year, MassEcon provided expertise to ment Council of assist the Boston Redevelopment Authority with its on-line site finding service; showcased Western Massachusetts Lawrence’s Riverwalk development in collaboration with the Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council and local officials from the City of Lawrence; served as panelist and co-sponsor of the Massachusetts Biotech Council’s Bio-ready Community workshops in Andover, Billerica, Chicopee, Fall River, Waltham, Worcester, and Hopkinton; and served as a member of the Worcester Stakeholder forums. Finally, MassEcon is proud to provide support to a number of regional initiatives. MassEcon LEFT: staff serves on the boards of the 495/MetroWest Partnership and the New England Peter Brown of Campanelli Economic Partnership; serves on the planning committee of Team New England; and Companies and David Begelfer is a regular contributor to the Economic Development Partners’ meetings in the western of NAIOP with Ian Bowles, Secretary of the Executive region. In 2008, MassEcon continued its second year of convening quarterly meetings with Office of Energy & its regional economic development partners and the Secretary of Housing and Economic Environmental Affairs at Development, providing a forum for communication among peer economic developers. MassEcon’s Holiday Lunch. www.massecon.com MIDDLE: MassEcon’s website is an important tool for companies seeking to expand within or relocate Lieutenant Governor to the Commonwealth. Visit www.massecon.com to access MassEcon’s services on-line; Tim Murray at MassEcon’s to find out about the major regions of the Commonwealth; to link to the many business, Summer Reception. industry, and public sector resources for growing companies; and to search the statewide RIGHT: industrial and research park database. Watch for MassEcon’s re-designed website in 2009! Karen Sawyer of the City of Methuen, David Tibbetts of the Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council, and Meg Delorier of MassDevelopment at MassEcon’s Summer Reception Expertise Engaging the Private Sector A unique element of MassEcon’s services to support economic development is the ability to rally the resources and expertise of its private sector membership to support the recruitment or retention of a particular company. Under the Team Massachusetts umbrella, MassEcon members volunteer their time to provide real estate market overviews, site tours, construction cost estimates, residential relocation information, venture capital guidance, and more. This expertise, which MassEcon brings to the state’s economic development sales team, can significantly enhance the customer’s view of Massachusetts as a place to do business. Governed by a protocol adopted by MassEcon’s Board of Directors, in 2008 MassEcon members volunteered their