In March, organizations all over the country scrambled to adapt their businesses as the global pandemic made its way into the U.S. As a world leader in innovation, Kendall has used this moment of extreme isolation to take what it does best to the next level — generate impact on the world’s greatest challenges by creating extreme collaborations.
Kendall is full of people aligned on a mission, each with our own niche focus, but driven by a call to solve some of the world’s biggest problems — and COVID-19 has been no exception. From a global health perspective, this is playing out in real time all around us. There are remarkable stories coming from Kendall that are helping us understand and overcome this global pandemic.
- The Vaccine Race: Kendall Square based pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Pfizer have developed COVID-19 vaccines that are performing well in human trials.
- Statewide Partnerships for Testing and PPE: Organizations paused what they were doing to recalibrate and forge public private partnerships to confront the pandemic. The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard partnered early on with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to support testing statewide, from nursing homes to colleges and universities — and have just surpassed 1M+ processed tests. MassBio established the Massachusetts Life Sciences Emergency SupplyHub in partnership with the Baker administration to bring additional PPE to medical workers around the region — activating 3D printers and other local lab resources to support local hospitals and frontline workers. These vital partnerships have forged a path that other states can learn from.
- Leveraging Community Platforms: We learned that, in times of crisis, community-based platforms like Kendall Square Association (KSA) matter more than ever. The KSA has provided critical connectivity and collective action on a host of issues including workplace safety, childcare, transportation, confronting racism, and a number of other issues impacting our individual and collective wellbeing.
- The Future of Work Task Force brings decision makers from the technology and biopharma industries together to share information on best practices and for joint problem solving. Learn more about what Kendall leaders are doing here.
- Inclusion Drives Innovation is a 12-week professional development program designed by and for KSA members focused on building anti-racist organizations by empowering participants to expedite the rate of change in their organizations through learning, collaboration and peer accountability. Purchase your seat today.
Kendall Square is a place that dwells in possibility and constantly challenges the status quo. These past six months have been critical for learning real-time lessons and coming together to lead on the innovations needed for businesses and society to thrive in the future. From test processing, philanthropic pledges and open source data, our community has adopted next level collaborations to establish our ‘next’ normal and contribute to the country’s response to the challenges of COVID-19 and racism. We will continue to chart a path toward building the most diverse, inclusive, innovative and talented square mile on the planet in the months ahead.