Developing common wealth : workspaces for innovation and entrepreneurship in Massachusetts

Abstract

Over the last two decades, Boston and Cambridge have generated some of the strongest and most celebrated innovation districts - Kendall Square and the Seaport District - in which new models of commercial and civic real estate support dense webs of relationships among high-growth companies, academia, investors, mentors, and corporate R&D. Although beneficial for the overall competitiveness of the region, the wealth generated by these start-up and tech communities is not broadly shared, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts's economic development policy, Opportunities for All, has focused on reducing disparities across the state. Meanwhile, the state's Gateway Cities present persistent challenges with lower than average incomes and weak market conditions for real estate development. Since 2014, MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) has focused the state's investment in Gateway Cities on projects intended to generate follow-on private investment, including TDI Cowork grants for "collaborative workspaces," broadly defined. In an effort to support communities of entrepreneurs across the state, TDI Cowork expanded into a state-wide Collaborative Workspaces Program in 2016. Despite this interest in using community-oriented workspaces to catalyze new economic opportunities, policymakers, developers, and other economic development professionals in Massachusetts lack a comprehensive picture of what spaces are currently available that aim to support innovation and entrepreneurship. A new inventory of workspaces utilized three categories from a previous list of innovation assets and found 50 "coworking spaces," 51 "innovation centers," and 20 "maker spaces." Of the 121 spaces, approximately 70 opened in the last three years and several others are expected to open in 2017. Survey data showed that spaces in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville differ from those in the rest of the state in several ways that are significant for stakeholders aiming to catalyze economic development, including a higher portion serving startup teams, providing access to corporate partners and investors, and supporting members/users of digital products versus creative or professional services. Further analysis of the innovation ecosystem in Worcester suggested opportunities to attract mid-stage start-ups and mid-career entrepreneurs rather than focusing on undergraduate student retention as an economic development strategy.