We are the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth
Our mission is to promote the growth of a vibrant middle class.
We achieve impact by moving ideas to public policy through civic engagement.
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Policy center
The nonprofit Massinc Policy Center produces rigorous, nonpartisan research and collaborates with civic leaders to find solutions to complex social and economic challenges.
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Civic journal
CommonWealth publishes in-depth, balanced, and independent journalism. As both a daily web publication and a quarterly journal, it covers politics, policy, ideas, and civic life, with an emphasis on investigative reporting, in-depth analysis, and political mapping.
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Independent
Polling group
The MassINC Polling Group is a full-service survey opinion research company offering public opinion research to public, private, and social sector clients.
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Latest articles
An election is a terrible thing to waste
The Gateway Cities Journal
The image of Governor Baker standing shoulder to shoulder with Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera as the pair deftly responded to the Columbia Gas crisis appeared on screens across the country last week. This relationship was forged back in January 2015, at yet another trying moment. It was the Governor’s first month in office, and Lawrence
A new Quincy
Building boom looks to move city beyond its past without leaving it behind
QUINCY MAYOR THOMAS KOCH calls the MBTA’s Red Line the “spine” of his aging city. With four stops in North Quincy, Wollaston, Quincy Center, and Quincy Adams, the T’s Red Line allows residents to move around the city and connect with Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville to the north. These transit connections have long been the
Windows of Opportunity for Regional Rail: Part I
The Gateway Cities Journal
Earlier this week the Boston Globe featured three op-eds on the promise of regional rail. It’s wonderful that the concept of how we use transportation infrastructure to integrate regional economies and generate more geographically-balanced growth is getting serious attention. And it is timely because a number of near-term policy decisions will have major ramifications for the
Rollins rolls to big win in Suffolk DA race
Outsider Harrington topples Berkshire DA, Ryan reelected in MIddlesex
AGAINST THE BACKDROP of a national rethinking of criminal justice policies, Suffolk County residents voted for big change in the district attorney’s office as Rachael Rollins, a former federal prosecutor running on strong reform platform, topped a five-way Democratic primary field in the contest to replace incumbent Dan Conley, who did not seek reelection. Change
Surprise! Mass. Dems don’t want to abolish ICE
The Topline
Follow Twitter trends and cable news discussion, and you’d think the Democratic base was all-in on the idea of abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Indeed, even national polling seemed to show Democrats headed in that direction, with a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll finding Democrats support abolishing ICE (43 percent) over keeping it (34 percent). Trump
Will MA hydro contract increase, or decrease, emissions?
Hydro-Quebec dismisses claims by enviros, power generators
MASSACHUSETTS SIGNED a $16 billion, 20-year contract to import hydro-electricity from Quebec to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but energy advocates and other power generators are saying the deal is unlikely to move the needle on emissions and could actually increase them. The debate revolves around the meaning of emissions. The contract will definitely lower greenhouse
WOOHOO, WOOSOX?
The Gateway Cities Journal
After three years of courtship, team owners and city officials announced last Friday that the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox (or, as they are more colloquially called, the “PawSox”) will soon move to Worcester and into a still-to-be-built $90 million stadium, Polar Park. Financed primarily through municipal bond offerings that cover the stadium’s construction, Polar Park
Half an ocean away
The MassCJRC Journal
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was racing east across the Southern ocean two weeks ahead of his nearest competitor when the winds inexplicably turned to face him head-on for 12 consecutive days. It was 1968; he’d been at sea on his own for five months, attempting to win the first solo around the world race. Facing these
Two candidates bucking the incumbents-rule rule
Political competition is a rare phenomenon in Mass.
WHEN IT COMES to the Massachusetts Legislature, voters won’t have a lot of choice this fall, either during the primary on September 4 or the general election in November. Seventy-eight percent of the 200 candidates running for the House and Senate will face no opposition in the primary. Most of that group (55 percent) will
Can Ocasio-Cortez return the favor for Ayanna Pressley?
The Topline
Going into the 7th Congressional District debate this week, Boston City Councillor Ayanna Pressley trailed the incumbent Rep. Michael Capuano by 13 points, according to the latest WBUR poll. The debate was less about issues than it was whether voters want experience or a new perspective in Congress. That’s in keeping with the polling: only
Did you know?
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Vacant and underutilized land surrounding 13 Gateway City commuter rail stations could house up to 230,000 residents and 230,000 jobs-double the number of people living and working in these station areas today.
Coming up
Why support massinc?
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We enjoy what we do.
Whether it’s planning events, conducting research, or analyzing the news, our team works on projects that we’re passionate about. -
We develop leaders.
Former MassINC employees have gone on to work at reputable organizations like Harvard University, Boston University, City Year, EnerNOC, and Governor Baker’s office. -
We stick with it.
Our work on transformative development, which uses public and private funding for projects to revitalize an entire downtown or urban neighborhood, began as Policy Center research report in 2013. A year later, the state legislature passed a bill funding transformative development projects across Massachusetts. -
We are nonpartisan.
Our Board of Directors includes prominent Massachusetts Democrats and Republicans. We are interested people’s ideas, not which side of the aisle they sit on. -
We have a complete toolbox.
We aren’t just a think tank. We bring nonpartisan research, civic engagement, journalism, and independent polling together under one roof. -
We have state-wide reach.
We know that Beacon Hill isn’t the only place to make progress. We’re on the ground in cities across the state working with local leaders. -
We have unique networks.
We use our connections to bring together a cross-section of diverse leaders to solve problems. Our networks include mayors, economic development directors, superintendents, business people, newspaper editors, arts leaders, and regional transit officials.
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- MassINC is a key partner to the Boston Foundation, and all of us who are seeking to advance the regional conversation around economic opportunity and a strong quality of life for all. MassINC's robust, nonpartisan research is exactly what our citizens and leaders need to make good decisions.
Paul Grogan, President of The Boston Foundation
- I watch my inbox for CommonWealth magazine’s Daily Download. I can count on the newsletter to tell me succinctly what’s happening in politics and public policy. The magazine itself always delivers in-depth news, analysis and commentary. It's simply outstanding, quality journalism. I am happy to support unbiased reporting through my participation in Citizens Circle.
Helen Chin Schlichte
Former Public Administrator; President Emeritus, South Cove Manor at Quincy Point - MassINC's long-term dedication to Gateway Cities makes them a valuable resource to all of our communities. They are a true thought partner. They go the distance to help others appreciate our unique opportunities, needs, and perspectives.
Tim McGourthy Executive Director of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau
- MassINC serves as a credible, thoughtful resource for all of us who are invested in the future of the Commonwealth. Its emphasis on careful analysis that is grounded in data, research, and polling makes an important contribution to and helps elevate the conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing the region.
Trevor Pollack, Manager of Special Projects for the Barr Foundation
- The potential of Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities is limitless. MassINC’s dedicated work in promoting these cities has been, and will continue to be, instrumental in their individual and collective success.
Jay Ash
Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development and former chair of the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute - MassINC has always provided research showing the detrimental impact of the state’s unforgiving criminal justice system on our communities. Their polling confirmed that the public understood the need for change in our system. That criminal justice reform is at the forefront of bipartisan local and national debates today is in no small measure due to MassINC’s persistent and fair commitment to the issue.
Juliette Kayyem Faculty Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Founder Kayyem Solutions LLC
- Through my partnership with MassINC, the Building On What Works Coalition is working to unite a diverse collection of civic leaders around an urgent call to encourage the state to act on the progress that has been made ensuring all children in Massachusetts have a true chance to succeed in the state’s economy. MassINC’s research and commitment to data driven public policy are helping to give the children of Massachusetts a better education.
Kim Driscoll Mayor of Salem
- MassINC's work with the Gateway Cities is unmatched. As Eastern Bank strives to help businesses in these communities thrive, MassINC has been a tremendous partner, providing data-driven research and affirming that these cities are full of opportunities.
Bob Rivers Chairman and CEO of Eastern Bank
- When MassINC speaks, it’s well worth listening. After all, the nonpartisan think tank has established itself as a thoughtful, careful, credible voice on public policy in Massachusetts.
Scot Lehigh Boston Globe Op-Ed Columnist
- Few organizations in the country have better understood the important role of governance reform and accountability in education policy and economic development than MassINC.
Bruce Katz Former Vice President and Founding Director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at The Brookings Institution
- [MassINC's] understanding of the complexity of the challenges facing the state’s older cities, its belief in the opportunities that present themselves in those communities, and its advocacy of the role that public higher education can and should play in them, has added to the understanding that policy makers need to have as they move our state toward the future.
Jean MacCormack
