Maine proposes smart, public-private investment in R&D

Thursday, November 10, 2005

After considering the potential, state officials have proposed a plan to more than double Maine's R&D activity to $1 billion by 2010, with substantial increases coming from public and, especially, private sources. (In 2002, the last year for which information is available, $430 million was spent in Maine on R&D.)

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The 2005 Science and Technology Plan for Maine proposes to increase state government's annual investment in research and development to $120 million over the next five years. It would be a huge increase from the $15 million to $60.8 million that the state has spent in recent years on R&D -- including about $40 million in the current budget.

The money would go to private, growing companies in targeted sectors and to university researchers and nonprofit research centers, including The Jackson Laboratory of Bar Harbor, which has established a training facility at the Thomas M. Teague Biotechnology Center in Fairfield.

The proposal comes at a time when Maine ranks at or near the bottom nationally in university research and patents received, and 33rd in the number of businesses that have received awards for small-business innovation.

While the $120 million goal might be overly ambitious given Maine's economic situation, the plan is a sound strategy that seeks to diversify and boost the state's economy by making Maine a bigger player in science, technology and innovation.

The plan, prepared by Janet Yancey-Wrona, director of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development's Office of Innovation, calls for the state to spend more on high-tech research related to biotechnology, information, precision manufacturing, forestry and the environment.

In announcing the plan, Yancey-Wrona said: "I think doubling (overall spending on research and development) is reasonable and achievable. I think it's highly ambitious. If we don't try, we're never going to get there."

We agree with her assessment and applaud her drive.

The plan is particularly appealing because it seeks to significantly increase private business's role in boosting R&D statewide. Nationally, some 80 percent of research and development is carried out by the private sector. In Maine, the percentage falls to about 60.

If adopted, even in a scaled-back version, the plan would represent a commitment to research and development that Maine has needed for years. Increased spending to develop new technologies and products could lead to more federal and private research money for Maine, creating jobs and helping businesses become more competitive.

The state's plan, available at http://www.maineinnovation.com (click on "Studies & Reports"), recognizes that increasing R&D spending, like other efforts to boost the economy, is not a simple proposition. Among the impediments: Maine's transportation shortcomings and its energy costs, which are high compared to those of most other states, especially outside New England.

We support the proposal to increase R&D initiatives in Maine, especially because it calls for businesses to provide at least 75 percent of the $1 billion in funding by 2010.

The plan's success relies on the governor and lawmakers to provide leadership and to find needed funding that is within the state's means.

The effort to boost investment in research and development, while clearly important to Maine's future, cannot become another expense that taxpayers cannot afford.