Both the high tech and life sciences sectors were hit hard in the recent economic downturn. Total employment in the ten key industry clusters of the innovation economy tracked by Massachusetts Technology Collaborative fell by 10% in Massachusetts between 2001 and the second quarter of 2006. More than 84,000 people moved out of state in that same time period, affecting the talent pipeline. (See Economy).
The pipeline of new talent to the technology sector needs to be strengthened. According to a 2006 National Science Foundation report following the national trend, Massachusetts’ proportion of new science and engineering doctorates compared to all doctorates decreased from 64.4 per thousand in 1997 to 47.1 per thousand in 2003. This trend is counterbalanced, however, by an 11% increase from 1998 to 2003 in the number of advanced science and engineering degrees conferred. This increase can be largely accounted for by foreign students, however. Data available at the nationwide level reveals that from 1983 to 2003, the number of temporary residents in the US receiving doctoral degrees increased 147% and accounted for 68% of the increase in the number of S&E doctorates awarded during this period. America and Massachusetts’ reliance on foreign talent is threatened, as many of these individuals are from China, India and other countries that now provide opportunities not found 20 years ago (See Indicator 9.4).
High housing costs are detrimental to recruiting and keeping talented workers. Despite the current drop in real estate sales prices, Boston remains one of the least affordable metropolitan areas in the US for renters and homebuyers. Newer centers of technology and innovation such as Raleigh/Durham, NC, and Austin, TX, provide cheaper housing and competitive pay (see Housing).
Education and training are needed to expand technology opportunities and skills for local youth, women and men. Boston-based organizations such as Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (WEST) and Girls Get Connected Collaborative are dedicated to improving education and opportunities for women and girls. Boston Area Advanced Technological Education(BATEC) aims to design a regional and educational workforce development program for IT; and Year Up provides one-year, intensive training for young adults in areas such as Desktop Support/ IT Help Desk and Web Production. Experts point to the need to prepare students to produce, not just consume, technological advances.
The availability of computers in schools has become difficult to maintain. After a dramatic increase in computers available to Boston public school students from 1996 to 2000 (dropping from a ratio of 63 per computer to less than 5 per computer), this ratio has been difficult to maintain and was 7 students per computer in 2005 (See Indicator 9.3.1). The City of Boston, in partnership with the Digital Bridge Foundation,created a new program—Refresh—to solicit donations for newer used computers from area corporations.
Uncertainty about the future of technology and risks to privacy and human interaction create a note of caution about unlimited technological development. Concerns about privacy in RFID (radio frequency identification) technology have moderated since 2004, as the technology becomes more widely used in distribution and inventories of products, but concerns about RFID tracking of people remains. RFID is just one new technology that can create privacy concerns. The increased use of surveillance cameras, the vulnerability of medical and credit records to hackers, FAA “Do Not Fly” lists, and the push to create a national identity card all call into question the spread of new technologies. In fact, Maine passed a resolution in January, 2007 opposing the RealID system.
Attention is needed to keep Boston at the cutting edge of technology development. Questions about WiMax spectrum access and emerging competition particularly in fields such as biotech highlight the need for City and state attention to tech competitiveness. TheBoston Globe suggests that the "Boston technological ecosystem" is more heavily geared to development of corporate rather than consumer technologies.
Smaller and community-based nonprofit organizations—with budgets under $250,000—are challenged to access and afford the latest technologies and related supports. According to surveys of community-based nonprofits in Metro Boston conducted by Common Impact, Inc., a technology support organization for nonprofits, between 2001 and 2004 the number of nonprofits with a technology budget rose from 34% to 59%. The number with a technology plan fell during this period, perhaps because technology is becoming more institutionalized. There seems to be a decline, however, in the number taking precautionary action, such as installing a firewall and having a plan for routine data backup (See Indicator 9.6.1).