“Every metropolitan area must periodically reinvent itself.” 
      —Barry Bluestone, The Boston Renaissance

The recession of 2001 and its aftermath marked the end of a long growth cycle described by Northeastern University economist and author Barry Bluestone as the “Boston Renaissance,” a 30-year cycle of growth that tracked Greater Boston’s rise from “veritable basket case” in 1970 to a world-class, high-tech powerhouse in 2000. That rise was powered by trends favorable to the region as it shifted from a manufacturing- to knowledge-based economy.

Along with the 2001 recession came widely bemoaned job loss, the sale or consolidation of iconic corporations, and the out-migration of talented young workers—a true reversal of fortune for a region that had generally had the wind at its back for decades, despite ups and downs.

Into 2005, Massachusetts lagged the rest of nation in recovery—with job and population losses that rivaled post-Katrina Louisiana and the collapse of the auto industry in Michigan. However, the prospect of a vicious economic cycle brought with it a sense of urgency and a rare openness to new ways of working. There are numerous signs that leaders labeled as “lacking the collaborative gene” just two years ago have begun to build a more resilient and muscular civic culture and economy to support what is arguably the region’s greatest asset: its capacity for reinvention.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Boston Foundation, and the Chair of Sovereign Bank New England convened the John LaWare Leadership Forum, to present data on key trends to civic and business leaders, and identify initiatives to improve the “pipeline” of jobs, talent and education, housing, and new leadership. The Boston College Citizen Seminars continued to provide a venue for new civic initiatives. The Boston Chamber of Commerce collaborated with other business groups to develop a Common Business Agenda on key public policy issues—from education to housing. Mass Insight mobilized industry and academic leaders to create Global Massachusetts 2015, a comprehensive, sector-based approach to making Massachusetts a world leader in key sectors of the innovation economy.

The Massachusetts Business Roundtable, MIT, and the US Council on Competitiveness sponsored a Regional Innovation Summit to stimulate regional collaboration and Massachusetts created a one-stop-shop across its public agencies and external partners—the Business Resource Team—to respond rapidly to companies seeking to expand or do business in the Bay State. The Boston History and Innovation Collaborative initiated Innovate Boston! to strengthen Boston’s historic capacity for innovation and renewal.

Specific sectors created new collaborative mechanisms, such as the Technology Leadership Council, a merger of two former organizations that now boasts 500 technology companies. A coalition including the Boston Foundation, UMass-Boston, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative founded the Life Sciences Collaborative to strengthen the region’s industry/research “super cluster.” A new state Cultural Facilities Fund was created to boost investment in arts and cultural assets.

New zoning overlay districts—40R and 40S—encouraged by the ongoing work of the Commonwealth Housing Task Force, encouraged smart growth housing development. The Massachusetts Legislature passed groundbreaking health care legislation as industry representatives, advocates, public officials and business groups collaborated in an effort to cover all state residents with insurance. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s Task Force on Health Disparities partnered with MGH and others to develop an action plan to improve health outcomes. The Mayor set forth a breakthrough Green Building Code based on recommendations from his Green Building Roundtable of environmentalists and developers. The Mayor’s Smart from the Start Initiative for 0-5 year olds brought together experts and stakeholders from the worlds of education, health, and child development to develop strategies to boost the prospects of the city’s youngest low-income children.

The Boston Municipal Research Bureau, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Sovereign Bank, Northeastern University’s Center for Urban and Regional Policy, the Rappaport Institute at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association worked together and separately on analyses that identified municipal finances as a major challenge to education, transportation and housing efforts. The Boston Foundation funded research leading to publication of Boston Bound, which called for the reform of Home Rule.

The Boston Foundation, City of Boston and many others partnered on the SkillWorks workforce initiative to create ladders of opportunity for incumbent workers through training partnerships with employers. A partnership led by ¿Oíste?, MassVOTE and Suffolk University’s Department of Government launched the Diversity in Civic Leadership Initiative to encourage and prepare leaders of color for more prominent roles in civic and public life. The nonprofit sector created an umbrella, the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network to strengthen the voice and impact of the sector. The United Way of Massachusetts Bay merged with Merrimack Valley’s and launched the Blueprint for Change to respond to rising income inequality.

The Black Ministerial Alliance and Ten Point Coalition renewed their commitment, along with public safety officials and community groups, to address rising rates of youth violence. The Leadership Exchange, coordinated by LeadBoston, brought together leadership programs and alumni from such programs as UMass-Boston’s Center of Collaborative Leadership’s Emerging Leaders Program, the Partnership, and Boston Cares. And participants in MassInc’s Civic Roundtable initiated plans for a Civic Summit.

And an unprecedented grassroots coalition came together to support the candidacy of now-Governor Deval Patrick.

These collaborative initiatives—and more—reflect a new awareness that the region’s challenges are too great for any one institution, corporation, or level of government to tackle on its own.