The Plan
Vision
This plan envisions a resilient, innovation-driven economy that creates opportunities for all Maine people. This vision is:
Bold
It envisions a transformative increase in R&D to push Maine onto a higher growth path and yield benefits for generations.
Built on Success
Maine’s proven R&D successes are the cornerstone of this evidence-based vision. It prioritizes the sectors and programs that have generated the most opportunities for Maine businesses and workers.
Socially Inclusive
It recognizes the need for R&D investments, especially those supported by taxpayers, to improve the lives of all Maine people. It emphasizes the importance of workforce development to ensure that all interested workers can acquire the skills to thrive in technology-intensive careers. It also supports commercialization, which extends the opportunities created by R&D to people with a broader range of skills, interests, and levels of education.
Geographically Inclusive
It envisions R&D investments across a range of sectors that collectively benefit the entire state, growing opportunities across Maine’s rural forests, farmlands, coastline, and urban centers.
Aligned
It is informed by a comprehensive review of plans guiding the current work of Maine leaders in public policy, research, education, workforce development, and the environment. It builds on, and aligns with, these plans to leverage the best thinking of Maine leaders and ensure the efficient use of valuable resources.
Comprehensive
It recognizes the contributions of a broad range of stakeholders — including businesses, investors, educators, workers, taxpayers, and public, private, and nonprofit research institutions — and calls for aligning them for maximum mutual benefit.
Implementation
MIEAB is the principal entity responsible for implementing this plan. Its work will include:
Awareness & Coalition Building
MIEAB’s membership will promote this vision within their organizations and across their established networks. Given Maine’s size, MIEAB’s thirty well-connected members can effectively share the plan’s vision and recommendations with partners across Maine’s research, education, and business communities. Members will strive to align messaging and policies, coordinate resource allocation, and avoid duplication by working with allies in state government, PreK-12 schools and higher education (public and private), healthcare, and groups such as the Bioscience Association of Maine, Educate Maine, Environmental and Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech), Focus Maine, FOR/Maine, Maine & Company, Maine Center for Entrepreneurship, Maine Climate Council, Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund, MaineSpark, and organizations involved in geospatial mapping.
Progress Reviews
MIEAB will review progress on this plan and its goals as part of its ongoing work. Building on existing systems, it will monitor changes in R&D expenditures, and postsecondary training and education reported annually by the Maine Economic Growth Council and Educate Maine.
Updates
During its reviews, MIEAB will assess the need to modify this plan in response to changing external conditions. Maine’s EPSCoR office will record these modifications for inclusion in future updates.
Economic Impact
Technological innovation and workforce development are proven ingredients for economic growth that creates lasting, well-paid jobs. (4) According to the Maine Department of Labor, occupations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics pay 93% more on average than those in other sectors. (5) Moreover, they are growing faster. From 2012 to 2022, Maine science and technology jobs grew 21%, compared to just 3% growth for jobs in other sectors. (6) Through 2028, these sectors are expected to grow another 6% while the rest of Maine’s job market remains relatively flat, growing just 0.3%. (7)
Within this very broad sector, some fields are expanding even faster. For example, jobs in life sciences have grown 48% from 6,456 in 2011 to 9,540 in 2021 — the fastest pace of any New England state. (8) The average annual pay for these positions is $108,000. (9) Information technology jobs are also growing quickly. They are expected to nearly double from 10,600 in 2012 to 20,200 in 2028. (10) Science and technology jobs directly benefit those who hold them, and indirectly benefit the communities in which they and their families live, and the businesses they frequent. Moreover, the sales, investments, and grants they generate and attract support other Maine businesses in industries as diverse as construction, accounting, and transportation.
Job Growth in Maine’s Science and Technology Sectors
| 2012 | 2022 | 2028 Projected | 2022-2028 Change Number * | 2022-2028 Change Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science and Technology Sectors | 52,388 | 63,130 | 67,093 | 3,963 | 6% |
| All Other Sectors | 634,866 | 656,963 | 658,747 | 1,785 | 0.3% |
Source: Crawley and Bailey, 2022
*Numbers may not add due to rounding
A line graph that shows how science and technology sector jobs are expected to grow faster than jobs in other sectors. Source: Crawley and Bailey, 2022
Another way to measure science and technology’s economic contribution is through Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the sum of all goods and services produced in a year. From 2000 to 2021, the combined GDP of all Maine industries rose 31%, adjusting for inflation. The chart below shows how certain sectors that rely on science and technology grew even more. “Miscellaneous professional, science, and technology services,” the category that includes much of Maine’s life science research industry, engineering firms, and technical consulting services, grew 77%. Food and beverage manufacturing grew 98%.
This sector includes businesses that turn raw foods, often harvested from Maine’s farms and waters, into products for consumption. Output grew even more — over 300% — among Maine computer and electronic manufacturers, chemical manufacturers, data and information service providers, and computer systems developers. These trends highlight why investments in science and technology are essential for economic development. (11)
Growth of Select Science & Technology Sectors (2000-2021, Real GDP)
Misc. Prof, Science & Tech Services: 77%
Food & Bev Mfg: 98%
Computer & Electronic Mfg: 344%
Chemical Mfg: 387%
Data & Info Services: 470%
Computer Systems Design & Related: 655%
All Maine Industries Average = 33%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
GDP Growth of Select Science and Technology Sectors
| 2000 | 2021 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Maine Industries | 48,490 | 63,595 | 31% |
| Select Science and Technology Sectors | |||
| Miscellaneous professional, scientific, and technical services | 1,442 | 2,553 | 77% |
| Food and beverage and tobacco product manufacturing | 549 | 1,087 | 98% |
| Computer and electronic product manufacturing | 140 | 623 | 344% |
| Chemical manufacturing | 186 | 908 | 387% |
| Data processing, hosting, and other information services | 47 | 267 | 470% |
| Computer systems design and related services | 142 | 1,073 | 655% |
GDP ($ millions, inflation-adjusted)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
4 Todd Gabe, The Pursuit of Economic Development: Growing Good Jobs in U.S. Cities and States, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
5 Maine Department of Labor, Center for Workforce Research and Information, “Maine Workforce Outlook: 2018 to 2028.”
6 Andrew Crawley and Megan Bailey, “An Economic Overview of the Science and Technology Sectors of Maine’s Economy,” June 2022, EDA University of Maine Staff Paper 2022-108: Technical Report.
7 Ibid.
8 Bioscience Association of Maine, “Life Sciences in Maine: state of the Industry,” 2022.
9 Ibid.
10 Crawly and Bailey, 2022.
11 Darrell M. West, “R&D for the Public Good: Ways to Strengthen Societal Innovation in the United states,” October 10, 2022.