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The state of Maine has found an innovative way to find funding to supports its technology industry – the state issued $50 million in bonds and just awarded $30 million in grants, with the remaining $20 million to be allocated this fall.

Funding for the Maine Technology Asset Fund was arranged and made through the , a state-funded nonprofit founded in 1999 that offers early-stage capital and commercialization assistance for the research and development of innovative technology-based projects that create new products, processes and services and generate high-quality jobs across Maine, and announced by Democratic Governor John Baldacci. The organization claims that for every $1 the state invests in technology, $12 are leveraged in additional private and public financing for Maine. In addition, the technology companies it funds buy 32% of their materials and 42% of their services from other Maine companies.

MTI received 66 applications for grants for a total of $113 million, and technologies chosen were built on traditional Maine industries including agriculture, forestry, and aquaculture. In addition, grants were awarded in genetics, nanotechnology, global positioning, high-resolution imaging, and ceramics/composites.

The bond issue was on the November ballot and received 51% of the vote.

Awarded grants include:

Advanced Nanocomposites for the Renewable Energy and Transportation Industries, University of Maine, $5 million

Forest Bioproducts Research Technology Center, University of Maine, $4.8 million

Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, $4.7 million; the lab specializes in studying human diseases and in reproducing mice used by the lab and other scientific institutions

University of New England College of Pharmacy, Portland, $4 million

Seldon Technologies Inc, Old Town, $2.9 million

Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research, University of Maine, $2.6 million

Sappi Fine Paper Technology Center, Westbrook, $2.2 million

Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research & Education $1 million

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Following ’s summary of the state technology funding effort, here is a compact, practical checklist for anyone researching outcomes years later and for entrepreneurs or policymakers learning from that model.

Key outcomes to verify:

  • Employment impact: check full‑time‑equivalent jobs, wage bands, and whether jobs were sustained over time.
  • Commercialization: look for product launches, revenue growth, licensing deals, or company exits.
  • Follow‑on capital: confirm whether private investment or additional grants arrived after initial awards.
  • Local supply‑chain effects: evidence that grantees bought goods and services locally and helped other Maine firms grow.
  • Governance and accountability: existence of independent audits, clear milestone payments, conflict‑of‑interest policies, and any clawback provisions.
  • Survivorship and scalability: how many funded projects remain active and scaled versus those that closed or stalled.

How to get reliable evidence:

  • Pull the administering organization’s annual or impact reports and the state auditor’s performance audits.
  • Request grant award agreements and milestone reports under the state public‑records law.
  • Search local business press and company filings for follow‑on financing and revenue updates.
  • Use LinkedIn/company pages for headcount and leadership changes, and patent databases for IP outcomes.

Practical tips for applicants and policymakers:

  • Applicants should present a clear commercialization plan, realistic milestones, committed matching funds, and reporting capacity.
  • Policymakers should require milestone‑based disbursements, independent evaluation at defined intervals, public dashboards for transparency, and explicit metrics tied to economic goals.

Cautions when reading impact claims:

  • Watch for attribution problems (did the program cause the outcome?) and survivorship bias (success stories only).
  • Look for independent verification rather than relying solely on program press releases.

This approach makes it possible to move past headlines and assess whether the program produced the long‑term, measurable benefits its proponents promised.

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