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
New MassINC study finds the number of inmates in state and county correctional facilities keeps falling, but correctional budgets are still going up in Massachusetts
New research from the nonpartisan think MassINC shows correctional budgets are still rising even as the number of individuals in state and county correctional facilities falls precipitously. These revealing new figures come as leaders on Beacon Hill look for ways to help agencies cover the costs they will incur in order to comply with legislation
Last Exit Before Poll
The Topline
The 2016 cycle was a tough one for exit polling. The major networks’ exit polls showed results far more favorable to Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump, and struggled to accurately represent the demographics of the electorate on key figures such as education, a key indicator of partisanship. This isn’t the first time exit polls have misled the public; don’t
Senate calls for ed funding formula revamp
Lawmakers say the state is not making good on promise of 1993 reform law
STATE OFFICIALS ARE marking the 25th anniversary of the landmark 1993 education reform law with a statewide set of events being held under the banner “Leading the Nation,” a reference to the top performance of Massachusetts students on national achievement tests. But the boasts and bows are colliding with an inconvenient truth: The state’s students
New MassINC Research Sizes Up the Untapped Potential of Gateway City Rail
Exploring the Future of Transit-Oriented Development
Leaders from across the state gathered at the UMass Club last week for the unveiling of a major new report estimating the long-term potential of transit-oriented development (TOD) in Gateway Cities. The culmination of a year of methodical work by a MassINC-led research team, this new study provides a detailed look at how many potential additional jobs and
50 years of walking for hunger
‘Food insecurity’ on the rise in Mass. as annual walk approaches
This Sunday marks the 50th annual Walk for Hunger, the massive fundraising event put on by Boston-based Project Bread to support food pantries and other programs. The event draws thousands of people, who gather pledges and then set out on the 20-mile course that steps off from Boston Common and makes its way to Newton
Voters give green light on “red flag” gun law
The Topline
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo announced this week the House would take up the so-called “red flag” gun safety bill. The move ended months of speculation and growing pressure from outside the building. The proposed legislation would “allow a judge to temporarily seize guns from someone who might pose a danger to themselves and others.” Eight states
Study reveals large untapped development potential around urban commuter rail stations
Spurring Transit-Oriented Development
A major new study from the nonpartisan think-tank MassINC finds that 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. Decades of disinvestment have made it difficult for private real estate markets
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Criminal justice bill reaches finish line
Baker signs comprehensive legislation, while signaling concern with parts of it
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed sweeping criminal justice legislation on Friday, capping several years of discussion on Beacon Hill and casting Massachusetts squarely in the national wave of rethinking tough-on-crime laws of the 1980s and 90s. Flanked at the State House by more than a dozen lawmakers from both parties, Baker said, “Viewed as a whole,
CommonWealth’s Spring 2018 issue is out!
Read the rundown
Here’s a rundown of what’s in our spring print issue, which is in the mail and available online. You may have heard something about infighting in Fall River between wunderkind Mayor Jasiel Correia and the city’s political establishment. Now get a sense of what’s really going on. Ted Siefer portrays a mayor who isn’t letting
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.
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 Eastern Bank President and COO
- 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 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
