SOE expands economic development partnership
From UMaine News (10-8-2021)
The Economic Development Administration has awarded the University of Southern Maine and the University of Maine $509,000 over five years to fund the University Center for Economic Development, a collaboration of experts from the University of Maine System that will provide technical assistance and research for the implementation of the state’s 10-year economic development strategy.
The University Center will be led by internationally recognized experts in the Maine Center for Business & Economic Research (CBER), and UMaine’s School of Economics and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, with specific programs that will focus on bolstering the state’s innovation networks and supporting workforce transitions due to technological changes.
“The center will have the strength and depth to be able to offer critical insights into the Maine labor market and provide a finger on the pulse of the economy,” said Andrew Crawley, UMaine assistant professor of regional economic development, who will serve as co-director of the EDA University Center along with Ryan Wallace at CBER. “The pandemic has changed the economic landscape across the world and Maine is no different. The challenges in recovery will be to understand how different sectors are performing and this will be an activity carried out by the center.”
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