Maine Issues S&T Report Card

The Maine Science & Technology Foundation (MSTF) has released the 1998 Maine Science and Technology Report Card, a first look at the state’s performance across twenty science and technology related indicators. MSTF will use the report’s findings to develop benchmarks for the next revision of the state’s biennial strategic science and technology plan, due out this fall.

The 20 indicators used in the Report Card are divided among four categories characterizing the state: financial capacity, human capacity, infra-structure capacity, and innovation.

Two indicators of economic growth measuring change in employment and in workers’ wages are used to reflect the effectiveness or outcomes of the four capacity categories.

Major findings include:

• Job growth and annual wages in Maine’s technology-intensive industries outpaced the rest of the state’s economy by 1.7 and 2.5 times, respectively;

• Indicators for Innovation, Financial Capacity revealed the state has yet to develop a critical mass of innovations to sustain economic growth;

• Test scores for math and science have risen 22 and 27 percent respectively over the past ten years, yet fewer Maine residents attend and complete college than the national average

• . New equipment purchases in Maine academic research institutions have grown ten-fold over the past five years, but still represent less than half the national average.

Maine joins at least three other states to use the statistical snapshot of selected indicators to measure their economies: Massachusetts, Illinois, and Kansas.

Copies of the 1998 Maine Science & Technology Report Card may be obtained from the Maine Science & Technology Foundation by calling 207/621-6350.