Maine to Increase R&D Activity to $1B by 2010

A plan to increase Maine's R&D activity to $1 billion by 2010 was revealed last week by the Department of Economic and Community Development's (DECD) Office of Innovation and the Maine Science and Technology Council (MSTAC). The level of R&D activity in Maine currently stands at $430 million.

The science and technology action plan creates a road map toward achieving the objective of higher per capita income, set forth in the State Planning Office's 30 and 1000 Plan, created in 1998.

According to DECD, Maine still lags the nation on many key innovation measures. For example, the Corporation for Enterprise Development's annual report card ranks Maine last in the nation in number of science and engineering graduates. The state ranks 40th in patents produced and 42nd for university spin-outs. Without bold action, Maine will lose out to other states and other countries, leading to loss of high-wage jobs and declining prosperity, the report states.

On the upside, however, the state has attracted $610 million in federal and private funding through a $157 million investment in the Maine Biomedical Research Fund, the University of Maine, and the Maine Technology Institute. In addition, the state now offers the 10th highest level of nonprofit R&D activity in the nation, up from 48th in 1999, according to DECD.

By 2010, the state hopes to garner 75 percent of its R&D activity from the private sector and 25 percent from universities and nonprofit research centers. Areas targeted for growth include biotechnology and precision manufacturing, as well as composite, environmental, marine and aquaculture, information, and agriculture and forestry technology. Five key objectives are presented in detail, alongside action steps and benchmarks to be completed by fall of 2006. Outlined strategies include:

• Creating a business attraction fund specifically for recruiting technology-based companies;
• Increasing entrepreneurial management assistance for growing technology businesses;
• Working with undergraduate colleges to encourage students to attend graduate school in the state;
• Establishing a seed research fund to cover early-stage costs associated with the preparation of proposals for funding, including data generation and project planning;
• Offering greater incentives to attract top-tier faculty, researchers and graduate students;
• Removing institutional barriers to make it easier for nonprofit researchers to partner with private industry;
• Establishing a high-risk funding program to close the gap between R&D funding and the cash flow positive; and,
• Marketing Maine's R&D assets to leading centers of innovation and innovation-based businesses in New England and Canada.

Maine's high quality of life will continue to be a strong asset, according to the report. However, in order to attract creative workers and businesses, Maine must also be a place where one can make money, the report states. The plan focuses on the section of the creative economy that is driven by the R&D of new technology. Over the next two years, MSTAC will work with private colleges, alumni, nonprofit research institutions, industry and policymakers at the state and national levels to implement the objectives.

A Science and Technology Action Plan for Maine 2005 is available at: http://www.maineinnovation.com/studies_reports/pdfs/science_technology_action_plan_2005.pdf

Links to this paper and more than 1,000 additional TBED-related research reports, strategic plans and other papers can be found at the Tech-based Economic Development (TBED) Resource Center, jointly developed by the Technology Administration and SSTI, at http://www.tbedresourcecenter.org/.