Maine's investment in R&D has contributed to consistent growth in Maine's economy and has increased competitiveness related to other states. Maine is the only state that conducts an annual research and development evaluation to track indicators, identify trends and provide data to address underperforming aspects.

• The net effect of R&D investments has been to increase the university and non-profit share of R&D in the state.
• Private sector recipients report higher job growth and much higher average wages ($38,825) than the Maine economy as a whole.
• The private sector companies that responded to the evaluation survey are paying wages that are 25% higher than the average and contributing almost $87 million to Maine's economy.
• This is a 14 times return on the state's investment.
• They report a net gain of 437 employees in 2006, a growth of 6.8%.
• The state investments have helped the universities build their research capacity and contribute to an educated workforce.
• Some university centers such as Advanced Engineering Wood Composites work extremely well with industry. There is an opportunity to increase technology transfers because technology transfers are low compared to national averages (except spin-off companies).
• Another opportunity is to enhance the impact that the nonprofit research institutions have Maine's economy. Beyond the direct jobs they provide, evaluation shows there is limited interaction with the private, research-intensive companies in the state and extremely limited formal technology transfer.

To read the full evaluative reports, go to Maine's Innovation Economy.

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