MassEconomy.org
Massachusetts Economic Assessment and Analysis Project (MEAAP)
2003 Economic Stimulus Bill programs
2006 Economic Stimulus Bill programs
University of Massachusetts Boston
John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Center for Economic and Civic Opinion
The University of Massachusetts Lowell Poll
MEAAP CEO Survey
Contact Us - MEAAP Personnel
MassEconomy.org
MassEconomy.org provides policy makers, the media, and the public with authoritative, objective, and politically neutral performance information, analyses and assessments of recent economic stimulus programs enacted in Massachusetts and of the Massachusetts economy in general.
The site is produced by the Massachusetts Economic Assessment and Analysis Project (MEAAP) which is a joint initiative of the University of Massachusetts Boston and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
There are several major sections of the site:
1) timely, detailed information about the 2003 and 2006 economic stimulus programs, 2) CEO surveys, 3) a comprehensive Economics Links Library, and 4) Massachusetts Economic Regions information.
Massachusetts Economic Assessment and Analysis Project (MEAAP)
The Massachusetts Economic Assessment and Analysis Project (MEAAP) was created under Section 30 of the Economic Stimulus Bill of 2003 (Chapter 141 of the Acts of 2003) to assess the performance of both the programs created under the legislation and the Massachusetts economy in general. MEAAP, which was re-funded under Section 105 of the Economic Stimulus Bill of 2006 (Chapter 123 of the Acts of 2006), has also begun tracking programs created under that legislation. The Project is required to periodically report its findings to Massachusetts policy makers. MEAAP is managed jointly by the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at UMass Boston and the Center for Economic and Civic Opinion at UMass Lowell.
2003 Economic Stimulus Bill programs
MEAAP is tracking economic stimulus programs funded under the Economic Stimulus Bill of 2003. These programs were created to provide grants, loans, investments and other incentives to companies, universities, nonprofits, and public-private partnerships for economic development, technology research and development, job training, and other activities.
The 2003 Economic Stimulus Bill (Chapter 141 of the Acts of 2003), “An Act Relative to Investments in Emerging Technologies to Promote Job Creation, Economic Stability and Competitiveness in the Massachusetts Economy,” was enacted by the Legislature in November 2003 to re-invigorate the economic engine of innovation, research, and development in Massachusetts, and to ensure the state's continued competitiveness in these areas. The legislation appropriated more than $82 million to stimulate the development of new technologies, enhance job training, and promote job growth in Massachusetts. For the first time, the Massachusetts Legislature dedicated its full support in one package toward job growth and economic development.
In addition to grant and loan programs and a tax-based payment incentive program, the package also recapitalized a number of quasi-public economic development programs. It created at least two entirely new economic development centers: the John Adams Innovation Institute, which was provided with $35 million in capital, and the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center at the University of Massachusetts, which was provided with $1.9 million in capital.
Other major features of the legislation included a $25 million recapitalization of an Emerging Technology Fund, the creation of a $2.5 million Massachusetts Mathematics, Science, Technology and Engineering Grant Fund ("Pipeline Fund"), and the recapitalizations of an Urban Initiative Fund ($1 million), a BayStateWorks worker training grant program ($6 million), an investment fund in start-up technology companies ($5 million), and the Brownfields Redevelopment Access to Capital Fund ($6 million).
2006 Economic Stimulus Bill programs
MEAAP has also begun to compile data and other information about a major economic stimulus package enacted in 2006, which authorized approximately $152 million in new funding for economic stimulus-related programs.
The 2006 Economic Stimulus Bill (Chapter 123 of the Acts of 2006), “An Act Relative to Economic Investments in the Commonwealth to Promote Job Creation, Economic Stability, and Competitiveness in the Massachusetts Economy,” authorized the creation of a range of new research centers and grant programs, and recapitalized several programs originally funded under the 2003 legislation.
The 2006 appropriations included $2.5 million in grants for a Scholar/Internship Match Fund and $1.5 million for an Educational Rewards Grant Program Fund, both administered by the Board of Higher Education; $2 million to the Department of Business and Technology for grants for technical assistance to small businesses; $11 million in workforce training grant funding to the Department of Workforce Development and the Commonwealth Corporation; and $10.5 million for additional workforce training programs administered jointly by the Department of Workforce Development and the Board of Education.
In addition, the 2006 legislation included a $4 million recapitalization of the Pipeline Fund; $10 million in follow-up funding to the John Adams Innovation Institute's Research Center Matching Fund; $2.5 million in follow-up funding to the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation’s technology investment fund; $10 million in follow-up funding for the Emerging Technology Fund; and $2.5 million in follow-up funding for the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center. The bill also provided for $30 million to recapitalize the existing Brownfields Redevelopment Fund.
The 2006 legislation also authorized $35 million for a nanotechnology and biotechnology manufacturing center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell; $10 million to develop a Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; and $10 million to develop a bio-processing facility at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The legislation also created additional tax credits and exemptions to encourage the growth of manufacturing facilities and for environmental cleanup and the manufacture of medical devices. It further authorized the establishment of tax-exempt special development districts in municipalities.
In all, the 2003 and 2006 economic stimulus bills appropriated more than $234 million for programs to stimulate economic development in Massachusetts.
The John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies
University of Massachusetts Boston
The John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston was created in August 2003. The School demonstrates the University's existing strengths in policy studies and is a reflection of the campus's desire to build that strength into a true "signature" area of excellence.
Offering a broad range of graduate degrees in public policy, public affairs, and gerontology, the School teaches students to think and work across traditional boundaries, particularly at the intersection of the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Existing research centers within the Graduate School focus on State and Local Policy, Social Policy, Women in Politics and Public Policy, Gerontology, Media and Society and Democracy and Development.
The Center for Economic and Civic Opinion at
The University of Massachusetts Lowell
The Center for Economic and Civic Opinion at the University of Massachusetts Lowell was established to track public and economic opinion in Massachusetts and the nation. Since public policy is increasingly driven by opinion as much as by other research data, benchmarking, tracking and analyzing opinion data is key to modern political and policy decision-making.
The Center conducts the quarterly University of Massachusetts Lowell Poll, the biannual MEAAP Massachusetts CEO Survey and, beginning in 2006, the annual National Nanotechnology Manufacturing CEO Survey which will be unique in the nation and designed to highlight UMass Lowell's key role in the emerging nanotechnology field. In addition, the Center conducts specialty and sponsored research.
The Center also maintains the University of Massachusetts Lowell Poll archives - ten years of quarterly surveys of Massachusetts voter opinions on a wide range of social, economic and political issues.
The University Of Massachusetts Lowell Poll
The University of Massachusetts Lowell Poll has surveyed Massachusetts public opinion on a quarterly basis since 1996. The surveys are designed to provide policy makers, the media, and the general public with regular reports about public and voter opinion on a wide variety of public policy issues. Its quarterly polls include public perspectives on education, health care, and the economy, as well as political matters. It also conducts other specialty surveys on a periodic basis. Click here for the UMass Lowell Poll archives. This is a partial list of survey clients:
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Citizens Housing and Planning Association
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Greater Boston Chamber Of Commerce
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Mass Insight
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Massachusetts Citizens for Children
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Massachusetts Commission for the Blind
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Massachusetts Economic Benchmarks
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Massachusetts Health Quality Partnership
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Massachusetts Kids Count
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Massachusetts Medical Society
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Massachusetts Office of Economic Development
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Massachusetts Office of Environmental Affairs
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Massachusetts Public Health Association
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Metropolitan Area Planning Council
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New England Board of Higher Education
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UMass Economic Project
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UMass Gerontology Institute
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The Boston Foundation
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MEAAP CEO Survey
MEAAP conducts an annual survey of Chief Executive Officers of businesses throughout the state, conducted by the University of Massachusetts Lowell Poll. The survey is intended to gauge industry perceptions in Massachusetts of a wide range of economic trends, including the performance of the national and state economies, impediments to business expansion in the state, the effectiveness of economic stimulus programs, and other issues that are included on a rotating basis.
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MassEconomy.org
Massachusetts Economic Assessment and Analysis Project (MEAAP)
2003 Economic Stimulus Bill
University of Massachusetts Boston
John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Center for Economic and Civic Opinion
The University of Massachusetts Lowell Poll
MEAAP CEO Survey
Contact Us - MEAAP Personnel
