State urged to invest $64m in `innovation gateway'

BEDFORD -- Lamenting the Route 128 brand has lost its luster, leaders of the information technology, communications, and defense industries today called on state government to invest more than $64 million in new efforts to make Massachusetts an "innovation gateway."

Among the recommendations was creating a talent development bank to help attract, retain, and train high-tech employees, focusing on building up the information technology security cluster, and creating a new branding strategy for the high-tech and defense sector.

The recommendations, contained in a report released by the Boston research firm Mass Insight Corp. at a meeting here hosted by the defense contractor Mitre Corp., came amid rising sentiment in traditional high-tech and defense businesses -- still the state's largest sector, with 331,000 jobs -- that their struggles are being overshadowed by the state's bid to promote and grow the life sciences industry.

Governor Deval L. Patrick traveled to San Diego today to tell the world's largest biotechnology industry trade trade show about the state's $1 billion investment in expanding life sciences in Massachusetts.

Mass Insight's president Bill Guenther told about 70 executives and trade association leaders that the state must pay equal attention to the other two legs of its economy, technology and financial services, at a time when growth in the technology industry has been slowing and many young people are moving elsewhere.

"We have a very proud and extensive heritage in Massachusetts in the high-tech and defense sector," Guenther said. "However, we're losing share and we're losing momentum to other states." If the trend continues, Guenther said Massachusetts is in danger of becoming a "high-tech outpost and startup boutique."

The report, prepared with assistance of management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., said the sector has shed 64,000 jobs since 2001, a drop of 3.5 percent, and its sales growth has slowed to 4.3 percent, one-third the rate of the previous five years. But the sector still employs 331,000 people, 10 percent of the Massachusetts workforce, roughly four times as many as the life sciences industry.
(By Robert Weisman, Globe staff)