Industry Assessment
In the spring of 2023, the Maine Legislature passed a Resolution (LD 1318) asking the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) to examine the state’s seven targeted technology sectors to assess their continued relevancy.
In the summer of 2023, MTI engaged with Camoin Associates, an economic development consulting firm, to assess the existing industry sectors by analyzing past, present, and projected trends. Camoin completed a report on the current sectors, found here, that was used as a baseline assessment for the larger evaluation of the sectors.
Public input was an essential part of the sector review process so MTI and Camoin conducted four public forums in November 2023 to solicit feedback from all interested parties, stakeholders, partners, entrepreneurs, and technologists. Each virtual forum was approximately two hours in duration and included an introduction to the work and process, an overview of the clusters, digital engagement activity, and opportunity for public input. The forums were well attended, and the feedback and input received was extensive and valuable.
To spread the net more widely to encourage additional comments from the public, MTI and Camoin also used a survey tool to gather feedback from all those interested in providing it.
And, finally, there was also a nice body of literature that had been assembled over the past decade regarding the emerging industry clusters and sectors that highlighted opportunities for Maine to grow and diversify its economy. All those reports were reviewed as part of the process, along with other relevant literature and data, to help Camoin compile its findings and develop recommendations.
The final report from Camoin, based on the key findings, suggested that MTI and the Maine Legislature should consider the following options regarding the best way to nurture future growth and innovation in the state. Each recommendation has associated impacts that are listed in the Recommendations Section of the report.
- Maintain the Status Quo – MTI will continue to support the current seven technology sectors as they are worded: Biotechnology, Composites & Advanced Materials, Environmental Technologies, Forest Products & Agriculture, Information Technology, Marine Technology & Aquaculture, and Precision Manufacturing. This approach continues the current system in place to fund businesses and innovative ideas without changing anything that MTI is currently doing.
- Adopt a Hybrid Approach – MTI will continue to support the seven technology sectors using the current broad definitions and add Emerging Technologies as the eighth target sector. This approach includes maintaining MTI’s current funding criteria but might add additional evaluation guidelines for an Emerging Technologies sector.
- Discontinue the Target Sectors Approach – MTI will focus solely on supporting businesses and ideas that are innovative and have a technological component. This approach includes creating a new evaluation criteria framework for funding decision making.
Again, the final report lists the advantages and disadvantages associated with each of the three recommendations. One thing that was not specifically mentioned in the report but that MTI views as a meaningful advantage of the current targeted technology sectors is that they are broad and inclusive and, importantly, not defined in statute. This lack of a strict statutory definition of the sectors has allowed MTI to evolve with the times and to be flexible in its interpretation to allow it to support the most cutting-edge innovations.
Given that the input and data compiled during the process seemed to indicate that, indeed, the targeted technology sectors remain relevant today — and given that MTI historically endeavors to be as flexible as possible in matching new, scalable innovations to one of the existing sectors — the MTI Board recommended to the Legislature that they maintain the status quo and retain the current seven Targeted Technology Sectors.
