Massachusetts is handing the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce the job of hunting down new employers for the state, backing a new nonprofit with roughly $2 million in its first year to build a pipeline of companies instead of just waiting for the phone to ring. Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley told the chamber on Oct. 23 that it had won a competitive bid to become the state's business-development partner, kicking off a public-private venture that aims to convince companies to move to or expand in the Bay State.
The arrangement, first detailed by The Boston Globe, calls for the chamber to create a standalone, statewide economic-development nonprofit staffed by four employees in year one. The budget is expected to run about $2 million, split roughly evenly between $1 million in state money and a similar contribution from the chamber, with both sides' shares potentially doubling in year two and tripling in year three, according to the Globe's reporting. Paley said he expects to finalize a binding agreement by mid-December.
The bidding contest played out over the summer and drew four other applicants, but the chamber came out on top, scoring highest on every factor laid out in the state's bidding document, per the Globe. Eric Paley said the partnership is meant to modernize how Massachusetts attracts and keeps businesses by folding in private-sector expertise and resources, and the arrangement will reportedly require a dollar-for-dollar private-sector match along with direct state oversight and regular performance reviews.
From Reactive to On the Hunt
The initiative reflects a shift away from a wait-and-see posture. The chamber is expected to build a pipeline of prospective companies rather than simply fielding inquiries as they trickle in.
The state's recruitment effort has leaned heavily on responding to inquiries rather than generating them.
A WBUR report found that a leading trade group reported businesses held a pessimistic view of conditions in the state through the last ten months of 2025. In that same WBUR account, Paley said other states are actively courting Massachusetts companies with incentives, calling on them directly to try to pry them away.
Building the New Organization
Rooney will be responsible for naming the nonprofit, recruiting its board, and hiring an executive director, according to the Globe's reporting. The board is expected to include representation from the Boston chamber as well as other regions of Massachusetts.
The initial $2 million would support the new organization's work.
Massachusetts isn't the only state restructuring how it recruits. Elsewhere, the Metro Atlanta Chamber recently rolled out its own refreshed recruitment strategy, something the organization revisits every few years to address emerging industries or infrastructure and labor gaps. Chamber chief executive Katie Kirkpatrick said the shifts the world has seen meant the group needed to start from scratch.
Other States Pursue Recruitment Strategies
Healey met with 40 biotech CEOs, a sign of the kind of direct outreach the new nonprofit is intended to expand statewide. The initiative is intended to give Massachusetts a coordinated statewide business-recruitment effort.
The partnership is expected to launch at the start of Healey's second term, per the Globe's reporting, though the final agreement between the state and the chamber remains unsigned. Massachusetts put the contract out to bid after state lawyers determined the arrangement required a competitive process, and with Paley targeting a signed deal by mid-December, the shape of the new nonprofit, its name, and its leadership are still being worked out.
