Governor Maura Healey announced the DRIVE initiative, a proposed $400 million investment in discovery, research and innovation, at the State House on a date not specified. The plan, the governor said, aims to fund university, hospital and institute research projects that deliver public benefit and create jobs across Massachusetts.

The DRIVE funding, Healy said, will “invest in research projects at universities, hospitals, and institutes, projects that deliver clear public benefit and create jobs,” and create mechanisms to draw additional public and private investment. The governor framed the proposal as both an economic-development measure and a safeguard for the state’s research ecosystem amid federal funding uncertainty.

Speakers from higher education, health care and labor described the initiative as statewide in scope. University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan said cuts to federal grants have already threatened research programs and talent, and called the governor’s proposal a potential lifeline. “This funding that the governor is proposing will show the nation that Massachusetts is willing to take a stand to protect discovery, research, and innovation in our state's economy,” Meehan said.

Boston Children’s Hospital CEO Dr. Kevin Churchwell described the commonwealth’s research-to-care pipeline and urged long-term support for scientific careers: “You need to be in it for the long haul. We need to be a destination of choice for the very best people,” he said. Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trades, highlighted job creation across construction and support industries and said the initiative will provide careers with union wages and benefits for thousands of workers.

Officials cited a Donahue Institute analysis saying nearly $9 billion in federal research funding that Massachusetts receives annually generates roughly $16 billion in economic activity and supports about 80,000 jobs. Speakers pointed to examples of statewide impact beyond Greater Boston, including a roughly $200 million, 200,000-square-foot biomanufacturing facility in Norton that speakers said supported both construction and permanent non‑Ph.D. jobs.

Healy and other speakers said DRIVE also would provide support for hospitals and the health safety net in the face of Medicaid funding pressures. The governor named Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg among officials attending, and said she intends to work with legislative leaders to move the proposal forward; no bill number, funding source breakdown, or timetable for passage was provided at the event.

No formal vote or recorded legislative action took place during the announcement. Speakers said further details and legislative steps would be released later.

About the news conference: attendees included political leaders, university and hospital executives, and union representatives who spoke in favor of the proposal and framed it as both an economic and public-health investment for the commonwealth.