Massachusetts Needs an Actionable Strategy to Expand ESOL Services

MassINC
Adults with limited English skills comprise one-tenth of the commonwealth’s workforce. This makes English for Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) services key to the Massachusetts economy. While the field is innovating to increase access and improve the delivery of these services, state and federal funding has declined considerably over the past two decades, relative to read more
Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Research

District Management for Downtown Vitality

Ingredients and Recipes for Success

Ben Forman, Andre Leroux and Elise Rapoza
Commercial districts need a high volume of foot traffic to support thriving small businesses. Supplemental district management services can dramatically increase this pedestrian activity. In recent years, there has been widespread interest in forming district management organizations (DMOs) to provide these services in all types of communities throughout the commonwealth. By unpacking the toolset Massachusetts read more
Topic(s): Economic Development, Gateway Cities, Transformative Transit-Oriented Development

Community Capital for Small Businesses

A Study of the CDFI and CDC Ecosystem in Massachusetts

Matt Brewster, Meaghan Phillips and Elise Rapoza
Prepared in partnership with P2 Advisors, this new study explores small business lending services provided by federally certified Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) and state certified Community Development Corporations (CDCs). Through a survey of 22 CDFIs and CDCs, we find these organizations doubled capital deployment to Massachusetts’ underserved small business with federal recovery funds. However, read more
Topic(s): Economic Development, Gateway Cities, Transformative Transit-Oriented Development

Accelerating Inclusive Growth in the Pioneer Valley

A Prospectus for Transformative Economic Investment

Ben Forman and Dan Hodge
Accelerating Inclusive Growth in the Pioneer Valley is an economic development prospectus for western Massachusetts. Prepared in partnership with Cambridge Econometrics, the analysis calls attention to the region’s competitive advantages in food science, advanced materials, and clean energy. The report makes the case for targeted state investment in the Pioneer Valley, and describes how a read more
Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Economic Development, Gateway Cities

Housing for All

Forward-Looking Strategies for a Growing New Bedford

Ben Forman, Saynab Maalin and Elise Rapoza
This report exposes the impact of the statewide housing shortage on Gateway Cities with an in-depth examination of New Bedford’s residential market. Produced in partnership with the Regeneration Project, the analysis pinpoints the forces contributing to rapid cost increases and explores the impact of rising housing prices on the local and regional economy. Detailed estimates read more
Topic(s): Gateway Cities, Research, Housing

In Pursuit of Greatness

Bold Strategies to Grow a Strong and Diverse Educator Workforce

MassINC
The increasing diversity of students in Massachusetts makes growing a diverse educator workforce a critical policy goal for the Commonwealth. In recent years, state and local leaders have responded to this challenge with a variety of programs and policy changes. This report details these efforts and their considerable impact to date. However, the findings show read more
Topic(s): Education, Jobs and Economic Security, Research

Criminal Justice Reform in Massachusetts

A Five-Year Progress Assessment

Ben Forman, Elise Rapoza, Peter Ciurczak and Luc Schuster
Produced in partnership with Boston Indicators, this report is the first systematic look at the impact of two landmark criminal justice reform laws passed in 2018. While the COVID-19 pandemic and data quality issues complicate the analysis, the report presents strong suggestive evidence that these laws led to significant reductions in incarceration without undermining public read more
Topic(s): Criminal Justice

Connected Communities

Providing Affordable Housing Residents with Unfettered Access to Digital Opportunity in Massachusetts

Ben Forman
Connected Communities explores strategies to close the digital divide in Massachusetts through targeted investments in affordable housing developments. Prepared in collaboration with the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP), the report builds on the 2022 MassINC-MACP digital equity action plan with a deeper look at the unique opportunities and challenges for these efforts in the affordable housing read more
Topic(s): Education, Housing

Tapping the Power of Health Pathways in Early College High Schools

Ben Forman and Simone Ngongi-Lukula
In a complementary discussion paper, we suggest Massachusetts can meet a growing need for skilled workers by weaving more robust career pathways into Early College programs. To demonstrate what this approach might look like in practical terms, MassINC partnered with the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education to produce this blueprint for Early College health pathways. read more
Topic(s): Education, Jobs and Economic Security

Early College as a Scalable Solution to the Looming Workforce Crisis

Ben Forman and Simone Ngongi-Lukula
Previous MassINC research shows Massachusetts’s relatively young Early College programs are demonstrating impressive performance increasing college access and persistence. This discussion paper looks at the potential to build on this success, leveraging Early College as a strategy to meet our growing need for skilled workers. We explore this opportunity through the lenses of developmental psychology read more
Topic(s): Education, Jobs and Economic Security
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