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Fertile Ground in the 413

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Opinion

Editorial

 

Innovation and collaboration.

As he steps down from his leadership post next month, Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC), has been touting those two elements among what makes the Western Mass. economy tick, and what it needs to continue to build on in the coming years.

And those were two words he drew on when it was announced earlier this month that Western Mass. has been designated as both a Quantum Technology TechHub and a Food Science TechHub through the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

In addition to the two designations, funding in the form of $1 million to advance a feasibility and design study of a quantum supply chain accelerator (QSCA) was awarded to Springfield Technical Community College.

The QSCA will anchor the next phase of the Commonwealth’s quantum strategy, building on the foundation established in Holyoke at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) and the state’s first quantum computing complex launched with QuEra Computing Inc. The accelerator will be the first regional facility of its kind to drive commercialization, support startups, and strengthen advanced manufacturing supply chains across the Pioneer Valley.

In a recent conversation with BusinessWest, Sullivan said it’s impossible to know for sure what the economy will look like a decade or two down the road, or what will be driving it, but the EDC and other local leaders have been proactive about considering that question and pushing for strategic investments.

“These are sectors that are going be more important tomorrow and 10 years down the road than they even are today,” he said of these evolving industries. “AI is booming, and quantum is booming, and the issues of food science and food scarcity, water delivery systems and water scarcity … those problems are only going to grow and be more important in 10 years.”

We’ve been talking about innovation and collaboration for many years at BusinessWest because we recognize how those concepts have raised the profile and economic strength of a region that sometimes gets forgotten out east — concept that, when put into action, create not just vibrancy, but jobs, and a promising future.

“Springfield, the City of Firsts, has a proud legacy of innovation,” U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said regarding the QSCA. “This award will help solidify Springfield’s position as a leader in this new technological era, placing the city at the forefront of advancement in quantum technology.”

We believe this project, and the TechHub designations, have that potential — and more.

Creating Incentives to Move to the 413

By
Opinion

Editorial

On the surface, state Sen. Eric Lesser’s proposal to essentially pay remote workers and teleworkers to relocate to Western Mass. seems like an act of desperation.

And in many ways, it is. For decades now, this region has been touting (if not actively marketing) its many assets, including quality of life and affordable housing, and yet the area remains that proverbial best-kept secret.

Meanwhile, many young people, seeing few intriguing job opportunities developing in the 413, are opting for other area codes, especially those in the Boston area, where they’re finding jobs, but also a sky-high cost of living.

So why not incentivize people to do what Horace Greeley first suggested Americans do a century and a half ago — go west?

Lesser’s proposal is to create a $1 million pilot program that would provide up to $10,000 for people to move to this region, buy equipment for a home office, or rent co-working space. He has told media outlets he was inspired by the story of Boon and Caro Sheridan, who decided that, instead of trying to slug it out in Boston’s challenging rental market, they would relocate to Holyoke and eventually buy a converted church.

So why not incentivize people to do what Horace Greeley first suggested Americans do a century and a half ago — go west?

It’s a nice story, and one that can, indeed, be duplicated. And Lesser’s proposal might help, although, in this day and age, $10,000 isn’t enough to cover any of those three costs listed above, and that figure isn’t likely to turn anyone’s head. Triple it, or make it $50,000, and maybe we’d have something. Maybe.

But the actual dollar amount attached to this program is only part of the story. Lesser is right in his argument that if cities and regions can incentivize companies to move in — GE is a good example — and individual companies can incentivize individuals to work for them (happens all the time), why can’t we incentivize people to move to a region?

We can, but we have to offer them a lot more than covering their moving costs. Indeed, the best incentive to getting people to come to a region — or stay in one, as the case may be — isn’t a check from the state. It’s a much larger check from an employer.

And this is a much more complicated proposition.

While some companies have ‘found’ Western Mass. over the past several decades, most haven’t really bothered to look, opting to locate where they know the workers are — the Route 128 beltway, for example.

What’s needed are incentives for corporations — not merely the likes of Boon and Caro Sheridan — to want to move here. And as we said, that’s a much tougher assignment.

We applaud Sen. Lesser for thinking outside the box and creating a discussion that we need to have. His proposal is worth trying, and it just might incentivize some software designers and other creative professionals who can work at home to make their home here.

But with this proposal, as well as his work to build a high-speed rail line that would link Boston with the western part of the state, Lesser is focused on making this area a better place to live. That’s fine, but what we really need to do is make this more of a place to work, and not just remotely in a home office carved out of an old church or an old paper mill.

Lesser is right when he says incentives work and money spent luring large corporations might better be spent trying to bring people to the four counties west of Worcester.

But if we really want to change the landscape in Western Mass. and stem the tide of outmigration, the only solution is to create more quality job opportunities. Tens of thousands of them.