“The Cambridge City Council sees Harvard as a parasitic enemy that sucks the money out of cities—when in fact, it is the opposite and this report shows that,” Grogan said.

He added that he thought the eight universities compiled the report to “gently foster understanding of their integral role within the region.”“Harvard [and other schools] need to attract research dollars and civic leaders to be their allies,” he said.

The report also focuses on the positive aspects of the universities’ impact on the region—particularly with growing local industries such as computing, biotechnology and genetics.

According to the report, many international science companies—including Amgen, Cisco, Merck, Pfizer and Novartis—are starting up new businesses in the area because of the appeal of the wealth of top scientists already working in the area for research universities and hospitals.

Cambridge Mayor Michael A. Sullivan said that while Harvard and the city have a rocky past, he appreciates the University’s economic impact, particularly in high-tech fields.

“While we have had our fair share of problems with Harvard in the past,” Sullivan said, “I can fully appreciate the impact of the biotech industry that Harvard and MIT bring us.”

“We are fortunate that the initial seeds for a new and better type of economy in Boston and Cambridge are based at these universities,” he added.

Sullivan said that Cambridge is in the midst of re-drafting its own economic policy.

“Harvard has had good and bad effects on the city, but in the long-run Harvard’s been good for us.”

Although Power said that the report was not custom-tailored to any specific political group, she said that the report directly addresses questions of Harvard’s and MIT’s economic impact on Cambridge—something the city council has examined in the past.

“I think the report sends a good message in the way of town-gown relations,” she said.

But Grogan was not optimistic about the report’s power in convincing the city council.

“I expect the city council to point out that Harvard still does nothing for the city of Cambridge, but we all know that’s baloney,” he added.

The study was conducted by Appleseed, a New York economic research firm, and is the culmination of over two years of research.

“The timing of the report couldn’t be better,” Grogan said, referring to the recent economic downturn. “It shows that unlike businesses, universities have a permanent value and this value is significantly helping the region recover from the recession.”