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Rick Sullivan Reflects on Legacy of Economic Progress

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Rick Sullivan says the Westfield data-center project
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Exit Interview

By George O’Brien and Joseph Bednar

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Throughout his lengthy career in public service and, most recently, within the business community, Rick Sullivan said his broad goal has always been to leave things better than he found them.

That was the case when he was mayor of Westfield for a dozen years, and also when he left that post to work for Gov. Deval Patrick in the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and then as chief of staff in the governor’s office.

And he had the same goal when he left Boston to return to the 413 and succeed Allan Blair as president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC) in 2014. And he believes he’s succeeded in that mission.

Indeed, Sullivan, who will step down from that role at the end of this year, said he believes the EDC is in a better place today, with more members, more programs, and what most would say is a broader approach to its mission, one focused less on filling industrial park space (although that remains an important goal) and more on developing new business sectors, tackling workforce issues, making the region more competitive in the ongoing quest for employers and jobs, and, perhaps most importantly, growing the agency’s influence with statewide leaders and policy makers.

Elaborating, he said one of the goals he and the EDC’s membership set was for the agency to become a louder, stronger, more definitive voice for this region and its business community — and it has become that.

“The membership, at the time, was really looking for the EDC to become the lead organization in Western Massachusetts with regard to issues of business and business development and the economy — with the state, with the business leaders (mostly in Boston), with the policy centers, and the regulators,” he explained. “Because it was really felt — and I do think it’s true, and having spent some time in Boston, I really know it to be true — that when the regulators and the policy makers sit around the table down in Boston and make the rules and the policy and the laws, they don’t have a Western Mass. perspective … they don’t have a perspective of what happens on the ground in Western Massachusetts and how that’s going to impact things.

Rick Sullivan

Rick Sullivan

“If the economy is doing better and people have more disposable income, then they’re buying more groceries or they’re going to the Big E … whatever they will spend their money on. And that’s going to help all of the companies that sit around my table.”

“So the membership was really looking to be the place, the clearinghouse, if you will, the go-to place, where governors, lieutenant governors, cabinet secretaries, those regulators would come and have those conversations,” he went on. “And I think we’ve been highly successful in that.”

Beyond progress on this important front, Sullivan said the EDC has made strides in other areas as well, especially when it comes to what he calls “catalyzing” new business sectors putting down roots here and that he hopes will be headquartered here, another goal for his board when he arrived.

That list includes quantum manufacturing, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and the broad realm of food science, sectors that are already making their mark here and should only grow in size and impact in the years and decades to come.

“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.

“And again, that’s kind of who we are in Western Mass.,” he went on. “So I think I’m actually leaving a couple of really exciting opportunities behind for the next CEO and, quite honestly, for the EDC moving forward.”

For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Sullivan about his tenure with the EDC, the progress that’s been made on several fronts, and the work still to be done.

 

Progress Report

When asked why he was stepping down now, Sullivan summoned some thinking he attributed to former NFL head coach Bill Parcells.

“He said you shouldn’t coach a team more than 10 years — and I think there’s some truth to that,” Sullivan noted. “You get to a point where you’ve done some of the same things that you’ve done for a long period of time, and it’s just time for the organization to change it up. So I think, for the organization and myself, it was just a really good time to have this happen.”

Looking back on his 11-year tenure, he said it’s been an interesting and challenging time for the region and the EDC, one marked by a global pandemic that changed everything, but especially where and how people work; the emergence of a new generation of leadership at many businesses across the region; shifting, but nearly constant, workforce challenges; ongoing efforts to create more jobs; work to leverage the region’s assets, especially its precision manufacturing sector, but also its cadre of colleges and universities; and a broad effort to lift the region’s economy and the prospects of its residents.

That last one is the underlying mission of the EDC, he noted, one that is not totally understood by some in the region’s business community.

“I think we need to do a better job as an EDC and as a region, not only celebrating but really marketing the advantages that we have here and the high quality of higher education that we have.”

“The simplest way to look at it is that our membership is really committed to growing the economy of Western Massachusetts,” Sullivan explained. “Growing the vitality economically, growing jobs, growing the ability for all residents of Western Massachusetts to enter the workplace and have a better quality of life — it’s pretty simple, and it’s a little bit of the ‘rising tide raises all boats’ theory.

“If the economy is doing better and people have more disposable income, then they’re buying more groceries or they’re going to the Big E … whatever they will spend their money on,” he went on. “And that’s going to help all of the companies that sit around my table.”

As for that table, it’s much larger now than it was 11 years ago, at least in terms of the number of people sitting at it, he went on, adding that membership has nearly doubled since he started, growing from 50 to roughly 90, and it has become more diverse as well, meaning companies of all sizes and across nearly all sectors.

More voices, and more diverse voices, make the EDC even more representative of the region and its business community, said Sullivan, adding that the strength and overall impact of the organization lie not in its president and CEO, but in its membership.

And growth of this membership, comprised of the leaders of area businesses and nonprofits, is among the most significant accomplishments recorded during his tenure.

Others include the maturation, if you will, of those emerging sectors listed earlier, sectors that were already here and now offer strong potential for continued growth.

Quantum computing is certainly on that list, he said, adding that the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center has been designated by the Healey administration as the state’s hub for artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and $16 million in state and private investments have been made toward building a new quantum computer there.

“And I think it’s a significant investment … I think you will see the state come in with additional resources to really move this forward,” Sullivan said. “Part of the argument has been that the state did a great job investing in biotech and clean energy and IT. And that was great, and they’ve been wonderful for the state economy, but those benefits really didn’t come back out here toward Western Massachusetts. So this investment in quantum really identifies strengths that we already have here.”

Another of these strengths is the broad food science sector.

“This relates back to everything from agriculture to water delivery and water filtration and water scarcity issues but also can go as far as alternative proteins and innovation and entrepreneurship within the space of food science,” Sullivan explained. “And little did we know that probably the leading institute in the country, and one of the international leaders, is UMass Amherst; they do great work out there already. And then, when you combine that with companies that are already here, like Big Y or Friendly’s or Hood, and then smaller companies and some new ones starting something, like Clean Crop out of Holyoke, those are all under that food science umbrella.”

 

Looking Ahead

As he talked about the work still to be done in the region and the challenges facing the 413, Sullivan said there are many items in both categories.

As for challenges, he put workforce and housing at the top of the list, while noting that they’re obviously related.

Indeed, one of the state’s weaknesses, from a competitiveness standpoint, is the sky-high cost of housing across most of the state. And while conditions are better in many Western Mass. cities and towns, there are several where potential workers are simply priced out, creating hardships for employers and shrinking the size of the populations, and workforces, in area communities.

“In terms of population growth, I think this is a good opportunity, in terms of a moment in time, to be able to have a growth strategy,” he said. “The state, under Governor Healey, is making significant investments in housing, and I really encourage every single city and town to take advantage of the incentives that are out there for development across the housing spectrum.

“From the higher end to market rate to workforce housing, it needs to be everything,” he went on. “Because right now, many parts of the region have no growth — in some cases, even declining growth. If it wasn’t for immigration, there would probably be no growth. Having no growth means that it makes it harder to fill those jobs. It’s harder to make that case as to why somebody should move here.

“I know there’s an old saying — and I don’t think it was Bill Parcells who said it this time — that if you’re not growing, you’re dying,” he went on. “And I think the growth strategy needs to be in every single community, and now is the time to be able to do that because, if you create a housing stock, people will move in.”

More housing, and more affordable options, are key now, he said, because people have more options when it comes to where and how they work, creating some real opportunities for this region.

“They can go, and they can live in a less costly community,” Sullivan said. “And when you stack things up in terms of energy costs and taxes and food costs and transportation costs, Western Massachusetts can make a very compelling case as to why we’re a very good place to live. Our quality of life is excellent. Going back to our commitment to recreation and outdoor activities and the environment, those are all things that are important when people are deciding where they can live, and today they have more choices than ever.”

Another challenge for the region moving forward is to more effectively leverage its considerable assets, especially higher ed.

“One of the other things that I think we can do a better job at is recognizing that we’re fortunate here in Western Massachusetts to have a really strong higher ed sector,” he noted, from UMass Amherst and the community colleges to a host of nationally regarded private colleges and universities.

“I don’t think we’ve done a good enough job leveraging that sector, because when companies look to come here, the first question they ask is ‘can I find the workforce?’” he went on. “When they’re looking for that talent, that talent is sitting in the classrooms of our higher ed institutions. So I think we need to do a better job as an EDC and as a region, not only celebrating but really marketing the advantages that we have here and the high quality of higher education that we have.”

When asked if he had any words of his advice for his successor, due to be named later this month, Sullivan said simply, “stay close to the membership.”

“The quality of individuals that sit around that table, the companies they represent, really are the companies that drive success here in Western Massachusetts,” he continued. “And while the CEO of the EDC is important because he or she will be the implementer, it’s really the agenda of the membership. They’re all really smart, and they’re all really committed to this region, and they want to see the best for the region. And not in a parochial sense — they’d really like to see everybody doing better; they would like to see the economy grow.”

If Sullivan’s successor does that, as he did, he or she will be in a position to ultimately follow his lead and leave the organization — and the region’s business landscape — in a better place.

 

Report Calls for ‘Transformative Investments’ in Key Sectors in Western Mass.

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Rick Sullivan
Features Special Coverage

Seed Money

Rick Sullivan

Rick Sullivan says the new report calls for admittedly significant financial investments — but that other regions have met such challenges with positive results.

The surprise was food science.

At least, that industry’s prominent place on a recent report outlining economic potential in Western Mass. was a mild surprise to some, Rick Sullivan said, but maybe it shouldn’t have been.

The report in question — commissioned and funded by the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC) and produced by MassINC and Cambridge Econometrics — is called “Accelerating Inclusive Growth in the Pioneer Valley: A Prospectus for Transformative Investment.”

At its heart, it determines that the Pioneer Valley has considerable strength in certain industries and technologies poised to grow with the transition to a low-carbon future, specifically detailing competitive advantages — and, hence, major economic opportunity — in the realms of food science, advanced materials, and clean energy.

Sullivan, EDC president and CEO, noted that Big Y Executive Chairman Charlie D’Amour, who sat on the project’s advisory group, knows his way around matters of food science, food security, and food-delivery systems. “And I think he didn’t even have any idea about how deep the work being done at UMass was and their leadership position in this field, and how we could tie it all in together. I mean, UMass has the number-one food-science program in the country. Who knew?”

When the report was released last month, D’Amour noted that Western Mass. should capitalize on disruptive changes in the food industry. “From biotechnologies under development at UMass to innovative efforts to support local food entrepreneurs, the Pioneer Valley is situated to generate broadly shared wealth, positioning itself as a leading producer of sustainable food products.”

The report makes a broad case for transformative investment, pointing out data showing that:

• The Pioneer Valley retains manufacturing strength, but lacks growing industry clusters;

• The Valley is underperforming relative to its potential to conduct research and development and commercialize new technology;

• GDP per capita in the Pioneer Valley is half that of Greater Boston and below the metro-area average for the U.S., heightening the need for new, high-growth clusters;

• Inflation-adjusted median household income in the Pioneer Valley grew by less than 5% over the past decade, compared to nearly 9% nationally and 12% for Massachusetts statewide; and

• High concentrations of poverty undermine the potential of the region’s future workforce.

The report also details success stories of transformative investment to the east and west, with high returns on investment: the Albany, N.Y. nanotech cluster, which drew on hundreds of millions in state funding and tax incentives; and the Worcester health research and biomanufacturing cluster, which is similar to the Albany model but achieved over a longer time period and with more modest state investment.

Javier Reyes

“As the Commonwealth’s land-grant university, our researchers make new discoveries and develop technologies that support local industry and prepare the workforce required for the Commonwealth to flourish in the decades ahead.”

“The Pioneer Valley certainly has the preconditions to compete globally in knowledge industries — it is home to the University of Massachusetts flagship campus at Amherst, along with 10 four-year colleges and three community colleges. Together, these institutions develop an enormous amount of talent, as well as a significant volume of basic and applied research,” the report notes, also highlighting the region’s abundant outdoor recreation opportunities, strong healthcare and hospital systems, an international airport, advanced manufacturers, and a rich food ecosystem, from farmers and specialty food producers to larger-scale food manufacturing.

Hence, the region is ripe for dramatic investment and growth in general, and in the three sectors the report focuses on — food science, advanced materials, and clean energy — specifically.

“With these indisputable economic assets, it is striking how little proactive economic-development investment the region has seen in the past several decades,” it continues. “Blinded by Boston’s enormous output, it is difficult for many to appreciate the true potential of the Pioneer Valley.”

UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes agrees. “UMass Amherst is committed to working closely with our partners in Western Massachusetts to play a central role in fostering economic development and growth for the benefit of our region,” he said. “As the Commonwealth’s land-grant university, our researchers make new discoveries and develop technologies that support local industry and prepare the workforce required for the Commonwealth to flourish in the decades ahead.”

But, as we will see, investment means money — lots of it.

 

Not a Small Ask

Specifically, the report calls for establishing what it calls a Fund for the Pioneer Valley — a dedicated pool of resources for transformative investment in advanced industries that positions the region for growth while supporting the state’s overall economic-development strategy as it relates to the clean-energy transition.

Charlie D’Amour

Charlie D’Amour

“From biotechnologies under development at UMass to innovative efforts to support local food entrepreneurs, the Pioneer Valley is situated to generate broadly shared wealth, positioning itself as a leading producer of sustainable food products.”

Based on similar efforts, the report calls for committing at least $50 million per year in state resources to targeted economic investments in the Pioneer Valley over a 10-year period: $400 million for a strategic portfolio of innovation investments, $90 million for site development, and $10 million for economic-development implementation capacity.

To help ensure that the fund makes worthy investments and that it fully leverages the state’s capital, the report continues, each allocation should leverage additional federal and private investment at a ratio of at least one-to-one, resulting in at least $1 billion in total investment in the Pioneer Valley economy over the next 10 years.

“I’ll be the first one to sit here and say that’s a big number,” Sullivan told BusinessWest, but the results of similar efforts in places like New York and Georgia have borne fruit, and investments in IT, life sciences, and even offshore wind in the eastern part of the Commonwealth haven’t generated much spillover for the Pioneer Valley economy — meaning this region needs its own targeted strategy.

“Is there a component where we will seek state investment? Yes. Will it involve federal investment? We hope so. But at the end of the day, if it’s going to truly be successful, there has to be the private investment on the other side,” Sullivan added, pointing to the example of Clean Crop Technologies, which BusinessWest profiled in its March 18 issue, and which hopes to revolutionize food safety and production in the green-tech sector.

“Other companies are, if not outright investing in Clean Crop, they’re working with or contracting with them. Those are dollars that are coming into the region from well outside the region, and from companies that have typically not played in this region,” Sullivan explained.
“So for this to be successful for the long term, there absolutely has to also be that private investment. This cannot just be a government initiative. It can start as a government initiative, but it clearly must have private investment.”

While the federal government has been discussing ways to transition to a low-carbon future — and, in so doing, spur new forms of economic activity in metropolitan areas across the U.S. — Gov. Maura Healey has called for the development of a clean-energy corridor across all of Massachusetts, and the investments suggested in the report could dovetail with that effort.

Jay Ash

“This research illuminates promising opportunities unique to the Pioneer Valley as we develop low-carbon technologies. We must work together to help the region tap these opportunities to generate strong and equitable growth.”

“This research illuminates promising opportunities unique to the Pioneer Valley as we develop low-carbon technologies,” said Jay Ash, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership. “We must work together to help the region tap these opportunities to generate strong and equitable growth.”

In the clean-energy realm, the report notes that the Valley has been a regional leader in clean energy, with ISO New England headquartered in Holyoke, extensive hydroelectric power (Holyoke Gas & Electric and FirstLight), early adoption of solar generation (conversion of the Mount Tom coal-fired power plant), and an effort to promote equitable business ownership and workforce training in the sector in partnership with the Emerald Cities Collaborative.

“Despite these advances, the region has struggled to define its economic role in the clean-energy transition,” it adds. “A robust strategy is critical because the clean-energy transition is the largest market opportunity by several orders of magnitude. Efforts to decarbonize the economy are drawing $2.8 trillion in investment globally each year, and estimates suggest spending must increase to $4.5 trillion annually to reach net zero by 2050. The Healey-Driscoll state economic-development plan seeks to position the entire Commonwealth to complete for this investment.”

Clean tech is a broad umbrella, Sullivan said, and includes the region’s broad research involving water — security, delivery systems, purification, and more — much of it from UMass, but also from a host of small companies.

“There’s a real opportunity to grow that. We’re looking at sectors that are only going to be more important in five and 10 years, not less,” he added. “The issues around water — water purity, water scarcity, water delivery — those aren’t going to go away. And they’re international problems. So that market is always going to be there. It’s an area that will grow.

“It’s the same thing with food,” he went on. “With climate change and global warming, the issue of how we raise, grow, deliver, and manufacture food isn’t going away. These are transformative in the sense that they’re sectors that are not totally built out — and they fit into the fabric of who we are as a community. They are environmentally based for the most part, particularly food science and clean tech. And they’re not going to go away.”

 

Drawing on Strengths

The report, which also drew financial support from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, the Davis Foundation, MassDevelopment, and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, is available online at www.westernmassedc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/white-paper-FINAL.pdf, and includes exponentially more detail than this article can convey, including specific ventures (along with specific dollar figures) by which the sectors of food science, advanced-materials, and clean energy may be cultivated.

The vision is to create clusters that become nationally recognized, drawing more companies and more investment, and make Western Mass. a dynamic and attractive place to launch businesses of all kinds, raising all boats, so to speak.

That was the goal of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), established in 1990. That nonprofit, public-private partnership was created to help industry, research universities, and state government agencies collaborate to build a technology-driven economy fueled by advanced research.

The state of Georgia provides the alliance with about $23 million annually to support its operations, from recruiting top research talent to building state-of-the-art labs. GRA also provides seed funding, legal assistance, and other services to support the researchers as they work to move their discoveries to the marketplace.

The result? Since its founding, GRA estimates it has produced a return on investment approaching $12 billion.

“We didn’t invent that model. That’s what’s happened in biotech, and that’s what’s happened in Upstate New York and in Georgia,” Sullivan said. “We’re looking to be the catalyst to get this thing to move, to show that it can work. Somebody has to tell the story of why this makes sense for Western Mass., and that’s an important part of this report. That, and we had to pick sectors that made sense.”

Ben Forman, MassINC research director and co-author of the study, is eager to see the state act with urgency.

“We have overlooked the Pioneer Valley for decades, jeopardizing its economic base,” he said. “It’s time to recognize and build on the region’s considerable economic assets.”

BusinessTalk with Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council

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Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 196: January 15, 2024

Joe Bednar Talks with president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, Rick Sullivan

Rick Sullivan

These are unusual economic times for businesses, with some healthy indicators but also hurdles like persistent inflation, high interest rates, and workforce challenges. As president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, Rick Sullivan recognizes those issues but also sees plenty of potential for the region to attract new business, grow promising industries, and continue to build on its strengths in education, innovation, and collaboration. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, Rick talks to BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar about the current economic tides, what’s happening in the development community, and why there’s plenty of optimism out there, even amid the uncertainty. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Sponsored by:

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BusinessTalk with Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 144: January 9, 2023

George talks to  Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council

Rick Sullivan

As 2023 begins, there are many question marks —as well as an abundance of cautious optimism — concerning the region and it’s economy. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien and his guest, Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council, sort through it all, touching on everything from workforce issues to the prospects for needed growth and new jobs. It’s all must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Living Local 413 and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

 

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EDC Leaders See Need to Market the Region, Leverage Its Assets

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Economic Outlook

Selling Points

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As he surveys the scene in Western Mass., especially the ongoing focus on encouraging entrepreneurship and helping startups get to the next level, Charlie D’Amour says he can see some parallels to when his father, Gerry, and uncle, Paul, were getting started in Chicopee nearly 80 years ago with a venture that would eventually become known as Big Y.

But this current surge in entrepreneurship is different in some respects from than the one in the mid-’30s, he told BusinessWest, adding that it is deeper and more diverse. And it holds enormous promise for the future of the region in terms of job creation and the vibrancy of individual communities.

“I continue to be impressed by the fact that we have a diverse and growing class of new entrepreneurs,” D’Amour noted. “Through the commitment of the EDC, the commitment of other organizations, and the commitment of anchor institutions in the area, if we can continue to grow, develop, nurture, and encourage these entrepreneurs, it’s only going to put us in a great position.

“That’s part of what gives me some optimism for the economy of our region — to see this growth in entrepreneurship,” he went on. “This is an interesting group of young entrepreneurs, and it’s a diverse group, and that speaks to where our future is going to be.”

Entrepreneurship and the prospects for more of it comprise one of many subjects touched on by D’Amour and other representatives of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC) during a wide-ranging discussion of the issues facing the region as the calendar turns to 2023.

“I continue to be impressed by the fact that we have a diverse and growing class of new entrepreneurs. Through the commitment of the EDC, the commitment of other organizations, and the commitment of anchor institutions in the area, if we can continue to grow, develop, nurture, and encourage these entrepreneurs, it’s only going to put us in a great position.”

Charlie D’Amour

Charlie D’Amour

D’Amour is a long-time member of the EDC and member of its executive committee. Others joining the discussion were Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the EDC; Tricia Canavan, CEO of Tech Foundry and current EDC board chair, and relatively new board member Cesar Ruiz, president and CEO of Golden Years Home Care Services.

Together, they addressed subjects ranging from workforce issues to marketing of the region to the prospects for bringing more jobs to the area.

Overall, as the new year begins, those we spoke with are optimistic about the region and its fortunes, but there are reasons for concern, especially when it comes to workforce (more on that later), an issue touched on by many in this special Economic Outlook section.

“I’ve seen some real opportunities with some investments that I do believe will be coming with the new governor’s administration in terms of broadband and internet access,” Sullivan said. “There is a digital divide, in our urban communities but also in our rural communities, and I think there’s a real opportunity there with a significant investment by the state and federal government to make those final connections and finally bring high-speed broadband to people’s homes and businesses; that’s a real opportunity for us.

“And I also some see some significant investment in the field of cybersecurity, which is an industry that, unfortunately, is probably here for the long run, and we need to be doing a lot of work every single day to stay ahead of the bad guys,” he went on. “With Springfield already being designated as one of the centers of the statewide system … that’s a real opportunity for us in terms of both workforce and working with our municipalities and particularly with our higher-ed institutions, so I’m very optimistic about the opportunities that are going to present themselves for this region in 2023.”

D’Amour agreed.

“The good news is that the economy of Western Massachusetts, with its diversity and whatnot, has proven to be somewhat resilient, from what I’ve seen,” he noted. “Though I anticipate a downturn in the economy, a slowing of the economy, I do expect that we’ll be able to weather it fairly well.”

“We’re all experiencing challenges in hiring — we can’t hire fast enough; we can’t hire quality enough within our workforce. Hiring is certainly going to be a barometer for how successful we’re going to be with expanding our business.”

Cesar Ruiz

Cesar Ruiz

Canavan concurred, noting that the many lessons learned during the pandemic will serve to make the region’s economy and individual businesses stronger and more resilient.

“The silver lining of the pandemic has been some lessons learned,” she said. “I’ve seen people start to integrate these lessons into their businesses and organizations and into their collaboration in the community. I’m really excited about progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; digital equity and access; and additional community alignment. I think we’ve learned the importance of working together. I’m optimistic about Western Mass. — we are going to be resilient, and we’re going to recover from the pandemic, even if there are some additional bumps coming our way.”

 

Working Things Out

One of those bumps is likely to be a continuation of very challenging times when it comes to workforce and companies attracting — and then retaining — the talent they need to grow and prosper. Those we spoke with said this is easily the biggest challenge moving forward and perhaps the most difficult problem to solve.

Ruiz, whose industry, home care, has been particularly hard hit by the workforce crisis, said workforce issues are more than an annoyance — they are hindering the growth and progress of companies, including his own.

“In Massachusetts, we have roughly two open jobs for every candidate that’s in the market. This is a great time for people who may not have been able to access those jobs previously to get training, to get education, and to seize those opportunities.”

Tricia Canavan

Tricia Canavan

“We’re all experiencing challenges in hiring — we can’t hire fast enough; we can’t hire quality enough within our workforce,” he noted. “Hiring is certainly going to be a barometer for how successful we’re going to be with expanding our business.”

He said individual sectors and specific businesses are, out of necessity, forced to be creative when it comes to putting more talent into the pipeline. Golden Years, for example, is collaborating with area colleges to help ready them for careers in healthcare.

Still, the problem is acute, and he’s talking with U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and others about ways to bring more people from other parts of the world into this country to work.

“Using foreign workers is nothing new — our resort areas bring them in by the hundreds,” Ruiz noted. “They come here for a six-month period, and there are certain obligations as an employer that we have to meet to tap that source. But we have to come with creative ways to tap these resources.”

Canavan concurred, and noted that the current workforce challenge presents a huge opportunity to engage those who are currently not engaged in education or work.

“That’s one of the big opportunities for us at this moment in time,” she said. “In Massachusetts, we have roughly two open jobs for every candidate that’s in the market. This is a great time for people who may not have been able to access those jobs previously to get training, to get education, and to seize those opportunities.”

“Our population has basically been flat, and in some areas, it’s declining. If we’re going to be vibrant, there has to be some growth; you need to grow to survive.”

Rick Sullivan

Rick Sullivan

D’Amour agreed, and said his company has been creative and also diligent in addressing the problem.

“Our staffing has improved — it’s much better than it was a year ago or a year and a half ago,” he noted. “But part of it is because we worked at it — we’ve addressed it proactively. We didn’t just put a sign in the window saying ‘now hiring.’ We’ve been a little bit more deliberate, a little bit more strategic, and a little bit more focused about it, and those are the kinds of things that we’re going to need moving forward.”

Elaborating, he said workforce issues require both creativity and a lengthy time horizon, meaning measures that will fill the pipeline with workers for the long term. And the focus needs to be on education.

“From early education to higher education, we need to make sure that we’re bringing our kids and our young people along so that they can be the workforce of the future,” he told BusinessWest. “If we don’t have that, we can’t do a lot of the things that we aspire to. We need to reach into these various communities and make sure that young people have the skills they’re going to need to be successful; that’s where our workforce is going to come from, and those are the kinds of things we have to do.

“I know that’s an area of focus for the EDC, and I know it’s an area of focus for the anchor institutions and many individual companies,” he went on. “We’re not going to get there in a year, but we need to start now; it’s probably a little bit overdue.”

 

Being Positive

As noted earlier, those we spoke with could find plenty of reasons for optimism concerning 2023 and beyond in this region. Collectively, they mentioned everything from the Victory Theatre project in Holyoke (Ruiz is among the many involved in that effort) to the growing number, and diversity, of new businesses being started in this region, especially within the Hispanic and African-American communities; from the strong education and healthcare sectors to the quality of life here and the opportunities presented by remote work for people to live in this region and work wherever they desire.

Meanwhile, those we spoke with said there are real opportunities to grow certain business sectors in this region — from cybersecurity to clean energy to water technology — with the area’s higher-education institutions taking lead roles in each one.

Sullivan said another often-overlooked or forgotten sector showing promise is manufacturing, what he called the “invisible backbone” of the region’s economy.

“Most of our manufacturers were classified as essential employers during the pandemic, so they were able to continue operating,” he noted. “They proved to be really flexible and able to pivot, in some cases even manufacturing PPE and other products that were not part of their portfolio before COVID. That flexibility, if you will, served them well, and now they’re well-poised for growth, and you’re starting to see them make significant investments.

“Whether it’s Advance Manufacturing, Boulevard Machine, or Advance Welding in Springfield, they’re making investment in their own facilities and their own people, and they’re creating jobs — and jobs that will exist well into the future because of the work they’re doing and the contractors that they have, whether it’s the Department of Defense or the Department of Transportation or healthcare,” he went on. “And these manufacturers have recognized that, while this region may not be the cheapest in terms of power or the cheapest in terms of taxation, we are the best when it comes to workforce.”

D’Amour agreed, and said another aspect of the local economy that is often overlooked is agriculture.

“We’re the garden of New England here in Connecticut River Valley, and there are a lot of young farmers in this region that are doing great stuff,” he said. “Agriculture and food products are an important part of our economy, and it adds to the diversity of the economy in our region. Having fields and orchards is also why many people like to live here; it leads to the whole genus of our community and what makes Western Mass. so special.”

Another priority for the region, Sullivan said, is to better leverage its many assets in higher education.

“Many of the other parts of the country, and even the eastern end of this state, really market the presence of higher ed,” he said. “And we have world-class institutions here; whether it’s the flagship campus for UMass or Smith or Mount Holyoke or Bay Path, the cohort of higher education we have here is really significant. And when we talk about workforce, the students that are sitting in the classrooms at the Elms and AIC and the other institutions are the workforce that everyone is looking for, and I really believe that economic vitality and higher ed are entwined tighter than they ever have been before.”

 

Work to Be Done

While there are reasons for optimism, there are also some concerns and priorities for the months and years to come, said those we spoke with.

Sullivan noted, for example, that the region — known in the banking sector and many others as a ‘no-growth’ area — certainly needs a growth strategy.

“Our population has basically been flat, and in some areas, it’s declining,” he told BusinessWest. “If we’re going to be vibrant, there has to be some growth; you need to grow to survive. We can absolutely sell our cost of living and quality of life here, but we need to have the housing for people to move into, and they need to be able to work from home or do their coursework from home, which means, again, that we have to make that investment in broadband and the internet across our region so we can take advantage of that opportunity.

“When people discuss work/life balance and what they want for their families, this lands in a sweet spot for us,” he went on. “That’s who we are; we can sell work/life balance and quality of life, as long as we have all the components. They’re not all going to happen in a month or a year, but there needs to a positive trajectory on all of those things.”

D’Amour agreed, noting that the region has a number of sellable assets, from location to transportation infrastructure to relatively inexpensive (and often green) power, as well as higher education. One priority moving forward is to more aggressively sell these assets and market the region.

“Our challenge has always been telling our story,” he said. “We have not participated as fully as we could have or should have in the economic boom that Eastern Mass. has had. How do we get some of the business community in Eastern Mass. to focus on us instead of going to Southern New Hampshire, or Rhode Island, or wherever?”

Canavan agreed. “We are, in some ways, our own worst enemy when it comes to not telling our story — or appreciating where we live,” she said. “And we do have a lot of assets here, starting with diversity; we’re very lucky to have people from all over the world here, people with different perspectives — that is a real asset. I also think we’re small enough to be agile and to pilot things … we’re like the scrappy player who can try new things, and that’s very exciting.”

Lastly, Sullivan said he is hopeful, and confident, that the state’s new governor, Maura Healey, will not just “talk about how we care about Western Mass.,” but make some significant investments in the region.

“And I think you’ll see them, whether it’s vocational education or community colleges, or broadband or cyber or clean energy,” he said. “I think that there’s an opportunity to make very strategic, intentional investments in Western Massachusetts that will allow it to grow.”