Page 25 - BusinessWest May 30, 2022

Johan Uvin addresses attendees at the recent gala marking the Donahue Institute’s 50th anniversary.
research, program-evaluation capabilities, and workforce and educational initiatives.
Anticipating almost $25 million in revenues for fiscal year 2022, UMDI has about 175 employ- ees with staff across the country, including all six New England states, Southern California, and Arizona. UMDI operates like a consulting firm, with 98% of its revenues being self-generated.
At the gala, recently appointed Executive Director Johan Uvin offered what amounted to
a state-of-UMDI address, and in a Zoom call with BusinessWest that involved several leaders of the institute, he did the same, highlighting what’s changed over the years and, perhaps more importantly, what hasn’t for this vital resource.
“As someone coming in from the outside, this is a solid model — it’s not broken,” he said of the institute’s method of operation. “The Dona- hue Institute has the autonomy and intellectual freedom to pursue work that is meaningful to society but that also aligns with its mission and capabilities.”
Over the years, that work, has come in a vari- ety of forms, including everything from housing to the national Census; economic data and ways to measure it, to office automation. And the insti- tute’s work has often to led to changes in how things are done and how issues are addressed.
Slicing through it all, Mark Melnik, director of UMDI’s Economic and Public Policy Group, used terms not often applied to such an agency.
“We’re a dynamic organization, especially for a public-service institute,” he told BusinessWest. “While entrepreneurial mode can be exhausting, it allows us to push corners.”
This unique blend of public service and entre- preneurship provides the institute to recognize
and seize what he called “opportunities that just make sense.”
For this issue and its focus on innovation, BusinessWest looks at these opportunities while reviewing the institute’s first 50 years of work and asking UMDI’s leaders what will likely come next.
“The Donahue Institute has the autonomy and intellectual freedom to pursue work that is meaningful to society but that also aligns with its mission and capabilities.
History Lessons
In the beginning, the Donahue Institute focused on providing consulting services to state and local governments. Named for former presi- dent of the Massachusetts State Senate, the late Maurice A. Donahue, UMDI branched out in the mid-1980s by helping clients in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.
According to J. Lynn Griesemer, who served with UMDI for 31 years, including several as president, and still acts as a senior advisor, a breakthrough assignment in the early days of the institute was to assess how to most effectively introduce office automation into workplaces. While automation is incontrovertible today, back in the paper-laden manual task days of
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Stuart Meyers
With both our sympathy and gratitude, the partners and staff wish to recognize the life of our partner, mentor and friend, Stuart Meyers. Stuart’s professional and personal achievements were many and he set standards that our firm still follows today. Not only was he a trusted advisor to businesses throughout our region, he was also passionate about supporting our community, especially the Jimmy Fund Golf Tournament. All of us at MBK will continue that work to honor his memory.
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INNOVATION
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