PARTNERS

Microsoft  Technology & Civic Engagement Team

The team brings Microsoft’s best assets to bear to help civic leaders — and the communities they serve – use technology and cutting edge ideas to solve their biggest challenges. With deep technical and policy expertise, the team is committed to building long-term partnerships in local communities and leveraging technology to make an impact on critical civic issues, such as computer science and STEM education, developing tools for greater citizen engagement, and the role of innovation in local economic development.

The Venture Café Foundation

The Venture Café Foundation is the not-for- profit sister organization of the Cambridge Innovation Center. The mission of the Venture Café Foundation has three key elements: to build and connect communities of innovation, to expand the definition of innovation and entrepreneurship, and to build a more inclusive innovation economy. Venture Café Boston operates spaces, programs and conversations in the greater Boston area. Boston spaces include District Hall and Venture Café Cambridge Thursday Nights. Innovation programs and conversations include the Innovation Visitors Bureau, the Captains of Innovation Program, Innovation in the City, and the Civic Technology Salon Series.

Mass Economics

Mass Economics is a research and consulting firm that specializes in urban economic growth and equity. We are a technical firm with expertise in data, analytics, modeling, and strategy as well as a socially-driven organization committed to inclusive economic growth. Mass Economics works with public, private, and philanthropic institutions, and we are nationally known for our work on economic cluster strategies, urban land issues, inclusive and equitable growth, and the creation of models that link economic and physical assets, such as innovation districts. We contribute to economic growth and equity in U.S. cities by leading transformative, large-scale economic development projects as well as building customized, local strategies for cities and neighborhoods. Our development strategies create jobs, strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship, rationalize urban land use, and link economic opportunity to the aspirations and needs of local residents.