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January 29, 2009

Report: Despite growth, Maine R&D still lags in some areas

By The Mainebiz News Staff

A new report says the state has made significant strides in its R&D sector, though it still lags behind national averages in key areas.

Maine's Office of Innovation, part of the Department of Economic and Community Development, yesterday released the 2008 Comprehensive Research and Development Evaluation, which found that the state has improved its over R&D ranking from 49th in 1997 to 35th last year, according to a press release from the DECD. The report found that while R&D capacity has increased steadily, its impact has not yet sparked a broader technology economy. Private sector R&D remains low, but state investments have prompted a 36.7% growth in revenues and added $2 billion to the economy.

Maine still struggles to turn startups into larger businesses -- the report found that of 4,600 startups established in 2006 and 2007, only 21 progressed from stage one (1-9 employees) to stage two (10-99 employees), according to the press release. And, while universities have increased their total R&D, the state fails to commercialize its research at the same rate as regional and national averages.

 

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