Friday, February 13, 2009

How We See It

Gov. Patrick must unify tech community and government

Video Gallery

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Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick continued his tech business love fest this week, showing up at an entrepreneurship conference that brought together area universities, legislators and business mentors to talk about building the next generation of entrepreneurs. After spending time on the West Coast, and then taking a quick trip to Kendall Square to meet startups like InVivo Therapeutics, Patrick has made technology entrepreneurship a new priority. His message of collaboration, sharing ideas and mentoring is right — and edifying — but will ultimately be for naught if Beacon Hill doesn’t get behind what’s being promulgated from the Patrick pulpit.

For example, Patrick has said the Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship is a key component to advancing his tech-friendly initiative. But a recent glance at the OSBE’s calendar had one listing — a December crime-prevention seminar for mom-and-pops — and its news hasn’t been updated since last fall, when Patrick’s Town Hall meeting plan was announced. Clearly, more work needs to be done if the goal is collaboration.

Part of the problem is the tech community itself. Despite what seems to outsiders to be a tech monolith, the tech sector is actually quite broad — biotech, telecom, Internet, med devices, clean tech and beyond. Our tech community has become increasingly splintered as each sector has matured. It has never had a unified voice when speaking with government.

Gov. Patrick, do you really want to tie the tech community together? Call together all the various tech trade associations (we’ll even buy the bagels) and see if they can work out a unified message for you to bring back to the Legislature. Call me, we can talk.

— Doug Banks