[Editor’s Note: This commentary is written by Catherine Renault. She is the former director of Maine’s Office of Innovation, which no longer exists, and currently runs her own consulting business, Innovation Policyworks, in Brunswick.]

Innovation and talent are the focus of the newly released Maine Economic Development Strategy 2020-2029. Developed over the last six months with input from over 1,300 Mainers, the plan’s stated goal is that “Maine will be an international leader with a vibrant, sustainable, environmentally friendly economy.”

The plan focuses on the clean energy sector, aquaculture and bio-based materials as areas for growth, noting the world-class strengths at the University of Maine in wood composites, climate change, food and aquaculture, as well as the various biomedical research institutions in the state,

Specific actions under Innovation are:

  • Action 1: Increase R&D investment levels in Maine;
  • Action 2: Raise the investment cap on the Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit from $5 million to $15 million;
  • Action 3: Revitalize the Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board (MIEAB); and
  • Action 4: Promote exports, both domestic and international, to strengthen the climate for startups.

In regards to increasing R&D investment levels in Maine (Action 1), the Plan is lacking in specific details. It claims that Maine’s R&D investment levels were 50% higher prior to the recession in 2009 than today and that “Maine will create a combination of public subsidies, tax incentives, and higher education investments, in order to partner with the private sector to lift this total number again.”

The Plan asserts:

“Maine’s strengths position us well to innovate, and opportunities for innovation abound in every industry. The time is right for Maine businesses of all sizes and sectors to partner with education institutions, nonprofits, and governments to drive that culture of innovation and, ultimately, deliver solutions that will not only power our economy, but the world economy as well.”

Innovation is tied to the Plan’s overall goals to grow the average wage 10%, increase the value of what we sell by 10% and attract 75,000 people to the talent pool. The Plan notes that innovation drives economic growth, and can make Maine companies, large and small, more competitive and successful.

The complete Plan is posted on the Department of Economic and Community Development’s website at https://www.maine.gov/decd/strategic-plan. This is the first statewide economic development plan for Maine in several decades.

Funding for initiatives in the Plan will need to be proposed by the Governor and taken up in the Legislature in January. The Seed Capital Tax Credit proposal in the Plan is similar to a bill that was carried over by the Legislature last year, and could be taken up again in January.