slides: Why Massachusetts is One of the Most Innovative States - 2016

Monday, April 18, 2016

GoLocalWorcester Business Team

The 2016 Innovation Champions are the top-scoring states in the nation, earning high marks for maintaining strong right-to-work legislation, fast Internet access, a robust entrepreneurial climate, and an open posture to new business models and technologies.

SEE HOW THE STATES RANKED BELOW

"The overall Innovation Scorecard grade captures a state’s overall level of innovation based upon the criteria. Each criterion receives equal weight in the final scoring formula. States are assigned up to 10 letter grades, although some states will have anywhere from eight to nine grades depending upon whether they were assigned grades for certain non-mandatory categories."

Five new states were crowned Innovation Champions in 2016, including Nebraska, which is pursuing a pilot project to collaborate with tech companies to increase recycling of used electronics; Wisconsin, which became the 25th state in the country with right-to-work legislation, and Massachusetts.

In Worcester Innovation Infrastructure is Growing

One effort is the creation of a new shared tech space. "The Innovation Center of Worcester (INCW) assists individuals who want to start companies in the Worcester area. We offer one-stop-shopping for those seeking co-working space, mentoring, pitch contests, networking, and training for those who have a business idea and need initial guidance to those who are looking to succeed with raising capital or growing their established enterprises."

INCW was created by the Accelerator Division of the Venture Forum, a Worcester not-for-profit.

In March, StartUp Worcester an initiative of created the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, The Venture Forum, and Running Start Coworking launched its annual competition to provide support as well as space for the region’s young entrepreneurs.

As Worcester's start-up and innovation community grow so does the Commonwealth's.