Background

About MIEAB

In 2007, the state of Maine established the Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board (MIEAB) to coordinate R&D activities and foster collaboration among public, private, and nonprofit research institutions and the business community. The board includes thirty representatives of these groups, all appointed by the Governor, as well as the president of the Maine Technology Institute and the director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (see Appendix I for a list of current members). MIEAB also serves as Maine’s steering committee for the federal Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This program helps strengthen the innovation infrastructure of regions with historically low levels of R&D activity.

About This Plan

This plan has two roles. First, it is the Science and Technology Plan required to receive EPSCoR funds. The program requires jurisdictions to identify their research priorities and a framework for allocating R&D resources. This document outlines Maine’s priorities at the time of publication. Given the pace of scientific advances and economic change, MIEAB recognizes that additional opportunities may arise within the next five years. A sector’s omission from this report should not be interpreted as a lack of support or barrier to resources.

Second, this plan helps MIEAB coordinate the R&D activities of Maine’s public and private research institutions, and guide public investments. It fulfills MIEAB’s statutory duty to create a plan every five years to improve Maine’s standing in the global economy. MIEAB created this plan with support from the University of Maine’s EPSCoR office. Over the course of almost 18 months, the office conferred with a broad range of stakeholders representing public, private, and nonprofit institutions across Maine (see Appendix II). The board guided the synthesis of their recommendations into this vision and plan.

Since 2017…

MIEAB released its last action plan in 2017. It focused on R&D, human capital, and entrepreneurship, and, for the first time, acknowledged the importance of the non-state networks and organizations driving innovation. Since then, Maine has taken important steps toward strengthening its R&D infrastructure. Later that year, voters passed a $50 million bond to fund the Maine Technology Asset Fund 2.0. To date, this has created 1,770 direct jobs and been matched by over $224 million in private funds. (1) In 2019, the University of Maine System created its first unified plan for research activities across its seven campuses. Following that, the University of Maine earned the designation of becoming Maine’s first top-tier (R1) research university. Meanwhile, the University of New England rose to R2 status. In 2020, Northeastern University launched the Roux Institute in Portland, an ambitious initiative to grow talent in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. In 2022, Governor Janet Mills and the state Legislature directed millions in COVID relief funds to research, including $40 million for the Pandemic Recovery for an Innovative Maine Economy (PRIME) initiative. Meanwhile, Maine’s congressional delegation has successfully secured tens of millions annually for R&D investments across the state. This plan recognizes Maine’s changing circumstances, opportunities, and ambitions, while building on the findings and recommendations of the 2017 plan.

Alignment with Other Plans

As MIEAB created this plan, it reflected on decades of work by Maine research institutions, businesses, educators, and policymakers. It leveraged their expertise, experience, and recommendations to create a coordinated, complementary plan to help Maine advance in the global economy. This plan aligns with, and builds on, the following initiatives and reports.

”30 and 1000” (2001) popularized research by the former state Planning Office estimating that increasing Maine’s R&D funding to $1,000 per worker and raising the percentage of adults with a four-year degree to 30% would boost incomes to the national average. At the time, R&D funding was about $255 per worker (44th in the nation). (2) This report illustrates both Maine’s long-standing knowledge of R&D’s unique power and chronically low funding levels.
Maine’s Ocean Energy Act of 2009 laid out a vision for a robust renewable energy industry, encompassing both offshore wind and tidal power. The bill received unanimous bipartisan support in the Legislature.
In 2016, 100 of Maine’s leading businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofits formed the MaineSpark Coalition, endorsing the goal of 60% of Maine residents holding a postsecondary credential of value by 2025.
In 2016, the Maine Algal Cluster Advisory Group released the Maine Algal Cluster Initiative report, highlighting key challenges and opportunities for advancement of a micro- and macro-algae industry in Maine.
In 2018, a unique collaboration among industry, academia, and government launched the Forest Opportunity Roadmap/Maine (FOR Maine), outlining a new vision for Maine’s forest products sector based on innovation and diversification.
The University of Maine System (UMS) Research and Development Plan (2019) marked a new, coordinated approach to R&D across the System’s seven campuses. With historic clarity and ambition, it set a course toward increased investment and impact across Maine.
In 2019, the state of Maine released its ten- year Economic Development Strategy: A Focus of Talent and Innovation. Like the UMS plan, this report called for increased coordination and alignment of effort across public, private, nonprofit, and education sectors.
In 2020, the Harold Alfond Foundation announced $500 million in new grants to Maine institutions innovating in education, workforce development, research, and job creation.
As Maine recovered from the initial impact of COVID-19, the Governor’s Economic Recovery Committee issued Recommendations to Grow and Sustain Maine’s Economy (2020).
This plan calls for investment in innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent to drive economic prosperity.
Maine Won’t Wait (2020) is the state’s four- year climate action plan. It calls for increased investments in R&D activities that advance climate solutions. As background to the plan, the Maine Climate Council’s Scientific and Technical Subcommittee published Scientific Assessment of Climate Change and Its Effects in Maine, a detailed report on the predicted impacts of climate change on Maine’s residents, businesses, and communities.
In 2021, Governor Mills and the Legislature passed the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, directing nearly $1 billion in federal funds toward the initiatives prioritized in the 2019 ten-year strategy and the 2020 economic recovery recommendations.
Since 2009, the Maine state Chamber of Commerce, Educate Maine, and the Maine Development Foundation have promoted workforce and R&D investments in their Making Maine Work reports. The 2022 edition calls for expanding the size and capabilities of Maine’s workforce, increasing R&D, and targeting high value-added industries. It notes, “state government can double its investment in R&D annually without running out of viable projects.” (3)
The Maine Economic Growth Council emphasizes the importance of R&D in its annual report, Measures of Growth (2022). It recommends R&D spending as a percentage of Maine’s economy increase from its current level of about 1% to the national average of 3% by 2030.
The Bioscience Association of Maine’s Life Sciences in Maine report (2022) shows the industry’s recent job growth in Maine has outpaced all other New England states.
In 2022, Governor Mills and the Legislature established the Maine Space Corporation to better coordinate and support the state’s research, higher education, and manufacturing capabilities in this emerging industry cluster, and to better leverage its unique geographic assets.

Global and National Context

As Maine strives for innovation and resiliency, shifting national and international conditions create both challenges and opportunities. In any given year, demand for Maine goods and services is heavily determined by the overall health of the U.S. economy. At the same time, Maine can leverage its unique assets to find outsized opportunities beyond its borders. The world is clamoring for solutions related to clean energy, sustainable food networks, healthcare, aging populations, and natural resource management. Maine is uniquely positioned to provide these solutions and turn them into business opportunities if it makes strategic R&D investments.

The coming decade promises to yield specific opportunities related to new sources of federal funding. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 allocated billions for public infrastructure, climate resilience, clean energy, and related initiatives. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and a recent Executive Order supporting innovation in biotechnology and biomanufacturing present additional opportunities. In all, federal funds could create unprecedented openings for Maine communities, businesses, and research institutions. Through this plan, MIEAB urges enhanced collaboration to help them successfully attract and leverage these funds.

The R&D–Business Development System

Research, product development, and business growth are mutually informing processes that yield the best results when knowledge and questions flow readily among all involved, and when all parties can access the talent and resources needed for their work.

Basic research helps scientists understand the underlying causes of observed phenomena. Applied research leverages that knowledge to achieve a specific, practical purpose. Experimental development turns that work into new products or processes (or improves existing ones). Business development turns these ideas into tangible economic opportunities, ultimately generating wealth and resources to reinvest in the system.

The flow of knowledge and ideas within this system is multidirectional. The market demands observed by businesses drive the work of experimental developers. In turn, the hurdles they encounter spark questions of basic and applied researchers. Each activity plays a critical role in economic development, and each requires sustained investment to create an engine of long-term economic growth.

A flow chart describing the interconnectedness between: Basic research; Talent and resources; Experimental development; Applied research; Business development

1 Brian Whitney, “Yes, MTI’s MTAF Program was Worth the Investment!” Maine Technology Institute blog, August 31, 2022.

2 Maine State Planning Office, “30 & 1000: A Progress Report: Our Knowledge-based Economy Development Strategy,” March 2003.

3 Maine State Chamber of Commerce, Maine Development Foundation, Educate Maine, 2022, Making Maine Work, pp. 17.