Boston Municipal Research Bureau

The Boston Municipal Research Bureau is a non-profit, member supported research organization which focuses on urban issues in Boston, Massachusetts. The bureau was founded in 1932, and has a board of directors composed of major business and institutional non-profit leaders from the city of Boston. Today, the bureau publishes research reports and papers, "monitor[s] state and local fiscal affairs[,] highlight[s] major policy challenges, from contract negotiations to tax policy," and "studies municipal budgeting, management, and labor issues."[2]

Boston Municipal Research Bureau
AbbreviationBMRB
MottoExpert research. Independent analysis. Trusted results.
Formation1932
HeadquartersBoston, Massachusetts United States
President
Samuel R. Tyler
Key people
  • Henry L. Shattuck
  • Diane Smith
  • Elaine Dandurand Beattie
  • James Michael
Revenue (2014)
$639,424[1]
Expenses (2014)$760,956[1]
Websitebmrb.org

History

The bureau was founded in 1932 by business leaders led by Henry L. Shattuck.[3] Shattuck, a member of a well-established New England family, was a local businessman, an attorney at the Boston-based firm now known as Ropes & Gray, the treasurer and senior fellow of the board of Harvard University, a member of the Massachusetts state legislature, and later a member of the Boston City Council.[4]

The organization was initially founded as a fiscal watchdog focused on the mayoral administration of James Michael Curley, the powerful Boston mayor who was later elected Governor of Massachusetts, and then later spent a portion of his final mayoral term in prison.[5]

In 1988 Dawn-Marie Driscoll, an executive at former Boston-based department store chain Filene's, became the first woman to lead the organization's board.[6]

Since 1985, the bureau has organized the annual Henry L. Shattuck Public Service Awards to honor employees of the City of Boston.[7] Since 1998, the bureau has also recognized business and nonprofit leaders involved in public service in the Boston area, through the Shattuck City Champions Award.[8]

Staff and board
Samuel R. Tyler, Former long-time President of Boston Municipal Research Bureau

The bureau has offices and a full-time staff based in the Downtown Crossing neighborhood of Boston. The staff is responsible for the bureau's fact-finding mission, and publishes reports and papers, testifies at public hearings, shadows public officials, and provides quotes to local media. The current president Pam Kocher who began her tenure as president in 2019 after serving in other roles at the Bureau for several years.[9] Ms. Kocher was preceded by Samuel R. Tyler who served as President of the Bureau for more than 40 years.[10]

In addition, the bureau has a board of directors composed of executives from many large businesses, universities and law firms based in Boston, including State Street Corporation, Liberty Mutual Group, Harvard University, Ropes & Gray, and the TD Garden.[11] The Executive Committee of the board had many members who were also members of the so-called "Vault", an informal collection of the heads of the largest businesses in Boston.[12]

References
  1. "Boston Municipal Research Bureau" (PDF). Foundation Center. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  2. Euchner, Charles, ed. "Governing Greater Boston: Meeting the Needs of the Region's People, 2003 Edition". Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, 2003, p. 62.
  3. "Editorial: Boston's Special People," The Boston Globe, Oct. 18, 1989, p. 18.
  4. Galvin, James T (Mar 1977). "Henry Lee Shattuck: Ideal Politician". The New England Quarterly. 50 (1): 3–29. JSTOR 364701.
  5. Galvin, pp. 8-12.
  6. "Hub Municipal Research Bureau gets new chairwoman". The Boston Globe, Feb 9, 1988.
  7. Nicas, Jack. "Watchdog group will recognize dedicated Boston employees," The Boston Globe, Oct. 5, 2009, p. 4.
  8. Valencia, Milton. "From cleaner streets to more reliable buses, workers boost Boston," The Boston Globe, Oct. 28, 2008, p. B4.
  9. "Research Bureau Team – Boston Municipal Research Bureau". Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  10. Valencia, Milton J. (29 January 2019). "City watchdog Sam Tyler to retire from Boston Municipal Research Bureau after 46 years". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  11. "Boston Municipal Research Bureau - Board of Directors 2010" Archived February 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Hub," Boston Globe, Feb. 9, 1988
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