Our Origins
Maine’s Climate Action Plan (Maine Won’t Wait) called for the creation of an information coordinating hub aiming to enable effective and efficient use of climate information in Maine’s climate change response. To aid that need, the University of Maine created the Maine Climate Science Information Exchange (MCSIE) office as a gateway to information about climate-relevant research, the scientists conducting that research, and the most recent data and applied science efforts relating to Maine’s climate change strategies.
The office was established in 2023 and includes full-time appointments and co-appointments with sector-based institutions including the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Office, the Center for Research on Sustainable Forests, and Maine Sea Grant. The office primarily focuses on agriculture and food systems, forests and forest products, and marine resources and coastal communities. Graduate student fellowships and internship programs are in place to extend the resources that MCSIE provides.
The MCSIE office does not direct traditional research activities nor does MCSIE replicate the work of Maine institutions that conduct applied research or already synthesize scientific information in particular areas for decision-making contexts. MCSIE is a gateway to those existing information sources, as well as information not already aggregated in support of climate change response decision-making for Maine. MCSIE serves to amplify these existing activities and expedite the connectivity of in-state collaborations associated with investigating climate change and pursuing solutions. In short, the Maine Climate Science Information Exchange is designed to accelerate how climate scientists and their research activities connect ‘in real time’ to decision-making across the policy and management spectrum. MCSIE adds capacity to Maine’s overall climate community of practice by facilitating information sharing and boundary-spanning that enhances the role of climate science in decision-making.