MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2004-2006

A consensus plan was created for the development of a citywide wireless network in Boston. Mayor Thomas Menino established a Wireless Task Force  in February, 2006 following a plan crafted by the Boston Wireless Task Force that published a report called Wireless in Boston  which built on a Boston Foundation study  of the same name. While the number of wireless internet locations had increased 170% from 2004 to 2006, most of these locations were in downtown neighborhoods, creating the potential for a “digital divide.” The Mayor is addressing this challenge directly with his August 2006 acceptance of the task force recommendation to create a nonprofit to build a city-wide wireless network. A pilot in the Grove Hall section of Roxbury was announced in October, 2006. 

MIT established the New England Energy Innovation Collaborative in 2006 in conjunction with three venture capital firms in order to identify and finance new innovations in renewable energy. 

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative was launched in December, 2006. With an initial $600,000 in funding, the Life Sciences Collaborative brings together the full spectrum of those involved in the life sciences, whether government, academic, or business, and also includes the various types of life sciences business, such as biotechnology and medical devices.

MassDevelopment, created the Emerging Technology Fund to finance efforts by corporations to create and maintain manufacturing facilities in the state.

The Boston Public Schools (BPS) launched the LINC III technology plan, which will use technology to provide better tracking of students, better provision of information to students, parents and teachers, and provide new mechanisms for curriculum development.  As a part of this plan, the BPS is also launching Project Refresh to update its computer hardware, so as to assure continued high levels of access to computers by students.

Recent Awards for Local Innovation in Technology

• TheMIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition of 2006 made six awards to student-created firms, including SteriCoat, the Grand Prize winner for its medical catheter coating technology, Avanti Metal Company for its new, green process for producing liquid titanium, and Terrafugia for its Personal Air Vehicle (PAV).
• Boston College’s Campus School EagleEyes project won a 2006 Microsoft Education Award for creating new communication methods for those with severe disabilities.
• Marlborough based PointCare Technologies, Inc. won a 2006 Agilent Technologies Foundation Health Award for its innovative use of nanotechnology to provide HIV care diagnostic tools.
• Cambridge based Design that Matters won a 2005 Microsoft Education Awardfor the creation of a low cost visual learning aid designed specifically for developing rural areas.
• MIT’s OpenCourseWare program also earned a 2005 Microsoft awardfor its efforts to put the course materials from over 1,100 MIT courses online.
• Boston’s Partners in Health won a 2005 Agilant Technologies Foundation Awardfor the creation of a web based Electronic Medical Record system to track patients in Peru and elsewhere with multi-drug resistant strains of Tuberculosis.

The Boston Digital Bridge Foundation’s Technology Goes Home and TechBoston programs report impressive results. Some 87% of participants in Technology Goes Home—a school and community training program for inner city families—report increased connection to the community; 92% of parents cite improvement in children’s schoolwork; and 95% of participants reported significantly improved computers skills. More than 450 families took part in Technology Goes Home graduation ceremonies at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in June 2004. Roughly 80% of graduates of TechBoston—providing advanced tech courses for BPS students—go on to college versus a 65% district average, and more than 5,000 participants have been involved in paid internships at companies including Fidelity and JP Morgan.

Visit the Hub of Innovation’s Technology Section.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS 2004-2006

Mayor Thomas Menino named a cabinet-level Chief Information Officer in June, 2006. In conjunction, a cross-departmental effort has begun to coordinate data and GIS (geographic information systems).

The Boston Police Department piloted a Citizens Alert Network in three neighborhoods in November, 2006, expanded the program citywide. Anyone registering at www.CitizenObserver.com can get e-mail alerts relevant to their neighborhood or the city as a whole.

The MBTAis transforming the collection of faresthrough the new Charlie Card program.

Two high-tech conferences, Siggraph and Wikipedia,were held in Boston during 2006.

Partners Health Care (parent of Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital) implemented much of its “High Performance Medicine” strategy during 2005-2006. Using new data collection and management systems, it is improving care through such mechanisms as the ordering of prescriptions by computer, not by paper, eliminating many errors and improving the ability to take into account possible drug interactions.