The Department of Economic Development (DED) is responsible for setting economic policy, promoting Massachusetts as a place to do business, increasing the job base, and generating economic activity in the Commonwealth.
The following agencies are within the Department of Economic Development: Massachusetts Office of Business Development, Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, Office of Film and Video, and State Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance. The department also works closely with: the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (Mass Development), the Corporation for Business, Work, and Learning, the Mass. Technology Collaborative, the Mass. Tech. Dev. Corp., the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
Throughout most of the 1990s and up to 2002, the state economic development plan was guided by the 1993 report of the DED entitled "Choosing to Compete: A Statewide Strategy for Economic Growth and Job Creation." The Massachusetts Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP), launched in 1993, was a series of initiatives geared to stimulate job creation, attract new businesses, and help firms expand. There were 34 Economic Target Areas (ETAs) throughout the state. Cities and towns, in partnership with the Commonwealth and private enterprises, also developed economic programs to attract new business. In October 2002, building on what was seen as the success of the Choosing to Compete campaign, the DEC issued a new framework entitled Toward a New Prosperity: Building Regional Competitiveness Across the Commonwealth. The approach divides the state economy into seven regional clusters, each with unique developmental needs and potentials. Six overall goals were stated: to improve the business climate for all business clusters; to support entrepreneurship and innovation; to prepare the workforce for the future; to build an information infrastructure for the 21st century; to ensure that economic growth is compatible with communities and the environment, and to improve the outcome from government actions.