December 1, 2022

As the 2022 Boston partner for the the Canadian Technology Accelerator, organized by the Canadian Consulate of Canada in Boston, ACTION completed a two month, hybrid remote/in-person program in early November to support eight climatetech companies as they explore US market entry opportunities in Boston/New England. The program began with an overview of the New England Climatetech Ecosystem. Individual company interviews were held to determine their aspirations in the US and one-on-one meetings were scheduled with potential government, commercial or industrial partners. We thank the Canadian Consulate of Canada in Boston for the opportunity to work with this terrific group of companies. We hope that Moment Energy, RWI Synthetics, QEA Tech, Zen Electric Bikes, Reusables, Haze Automotive, Pulsenics, and SensoDrive Technology have gained additional insight into the US market and made valuable connections leading to business opportunities in the greater Boston/New England region.

October 24, 2022

ACTION is pleased to announce its Association Membership in PracticePoint (PP). This membership provides companies in ACTION’s member incubators with the benefits of an Associate Partner member.

PracticePoint is WPI’s membership-based MedTech development and testing facility, designed and equipped to expedite the MedTech R&D process. The goal of this alliance space is to advance healthcare technologies and launch better medical cyber-physical systems through collaboration across the spectrum of product development and implementation; it is a resource for designing, prototyping, and evaluating various medical devices along with an associated consortium of academics, industry, healthcare professionals, and users/patients. This includes a wide spectrum from rehabilitative devices to surgical robotics. The facility comprises point-of-practice clinical care scenarios, including a fully instrumented living space, state-of-the-art motion capture lab, 2-bed modular patient care suite, MRI imaging, and a fully functional operating room co-located with advanced manufacturing capabilities, including a wide array of 3D printing, CNC manufacturing, and electronics assembly equipment and test capabilities.

The facility can accommodate study projects ranging from pre-clinical trial testing and validation to human factor studies. PP’s flexible membership model addresses issues regarding manpower, bench strength, ease of facility access and engaging geographically disperse teams while ensuring testing, data collection, device modifications, creating of marketing content, and training needs can all be accomplished at one site.

A facility tour is scheduled for November 10th from 12:00-1:00 pm for interested incubators and member companies. We are thrilled to be able to offer this benefit to any company within our member incubators. For more information, contact Joan Popolo at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

September 20, 2022

In August, ACTION Innovation Network convened a meeting with regional incubator directors to introduce Mark Parsons, Founder of New Bedford Research and Robotics (NBRR), and learn about architectural plans and programs for the newly forming incubator. The meeting revealed a number of interesting synergies and explored cooperative ways of lending support and working together. Later, a visit to the proposed new site was arranged, with several incubator and Board members attending.

The establishment of NBRR follows Mr. Parsons' creation of Consortium for Research & Robotics, a successful incubator located in New York's Brooklyn Navy Yard. Following that success, Mark decided to move back to his hometown on the SouthCoast and replicate the incubator model in New Bedford, with some improvements. As a maker and designer, Mark has a keen interest in creating, and is building the incubator with a focus on additive manufacturing, industrial robotics, and design to support the sectors of climate-tech, medtech, bluetech, AI/ML, VR/XR/IoT. A strong educational component will be integral to the incubator, with STEAM programs to inspire local students that may not otherwise have exposure and access to these new technologies. NBRR's mission is to provide access to frontier technologies for commercial and social impact, through education, economic empowerment and corporate engagement.

The beginning of Innovation Avenue NBRR's home will be at the location of the former Glaser Glass on Purchase Street in New Bedford. When fully operational, NBRR expects to incubate 10-12 startups at a time, and will host corporate research studios. Groundwork, a co-working space, is just steps away. A major advantage of this site is its close proximity to what will be the terminus of the new South Coast Rail line from Boston.

The long span of street-facing, full height windows of the bay doors allows the site to open to and engage with the New Bedford community, providing inspiration to community youth and innovators alike. Read more about Mark's background and his plans for NBRR here.

June 22, 2022

ACTION has reintroduced its Pre/Soft Landing programs for international technology scale-up companies that are exploring market entry opportunities in New England with two newly restructured programs.

The Pre- Landing Program is offered to cohorts of international companies that are ready to initiate an expansion in the US in Massachusetts / New England, one of the main innovation ecosystems worldwide, or wish to leverage the knowledge and resources in the area to generate new business opportunities. The program is presented in three phases:

• Phase I: Exploring US Market Entry Opportunities in New England
• Phase II: Making Key Connections and Building Collaborator Relationships, and
• Phase III: Company Soft-Landings in MA/New England Incubators.

As a new benefit for international agency members, the InterACTION Program provides an introduction to the New England technology innovation ecosystem and company connections for companies participating in delegations to Boston. The program is a shorter duration, condensed version of the 3-phase Pre/Soft Landing program and includes an overview of the New England technology innovation ecosystem and regionalization of its technology sectors, and facilitates company connections to relevant collaborators and other ecosystem partners, including incubators. International agency membership is open to economic development organizations, consulates, international trade agencies, international chambers of commerce and other international government agencies. International agency members receive a discounted program rate.

For details about these programs and pricing, contact Joan Popolo, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .