GrowSmart Maine Studying How Maine can Reinvent Government

For those of you who may not be aware, there is a non-profit organization here in the State of Maine that really cares about our future: GrowSmart Maine.

They are helping to preserve Maine's special character and historically significant architecture, while at the same time promoting efficient government and competitiveness in a global economy. This non-profit organization is behind the study conducted by the Brookings Institution called "Charting Maine's Future" and this study specifically addresses providing better public service at a lower cost, the business climate, schools, and land use.

If you would like to order a copy or download a PDF of "Charting Maine's Future," please click here.

What is GrowSmart Maine?

GrowSmart Maine is a statewide non-profit citizens' organization that is promoting sustainable prosperity and the protection of Maine's special character. Members include concerned citizens, business people, conservationists, political leaders and local officials, among others. GrowSmart is working to bring Maine people together across the many divides that separate us: political affiliation, geography, place of birth or income. Our goal is to mobilize people around shared strategies to shape a better future.

What is the Brookings Institution?

Based in Washington, D.C., the Brookings Institution is a one of the world's largest and most prestigious think tanks. Brookings provides research and policy advice on economic development, governance issues, foreign policy, economic trends, and metropolitan and regional development issues. "Charting the Future" was produced by Brookings' Metropolitan Policy Program, which provides cutting-edge analysis and recommendations on the shifting realities of cities, regions and towns. The program works throughout the U.S. and in many parts of the world.

How was the report developed?

In sponsoring this report, GrowSmart Maine asked Brookings to produce an unvarnished picture of Maine and how we are changing, and to propose an action plan. The plan had to address three questions.

- How can we build a stronger economy without wrecking what's special about Maine?
- Are we organized to compete with other regions of the country?
- How can we better work together on our common hopes for Maine?

The answers took a year and a half to develop. Brookings reviewed nearly every significant report done on Maine in recent decades, hired six prominent experts to produce new research, and gathered first-hand testimony from across Maine. Last spring, GrowSmart Maine held a series of more than 40 listening sessions - from Caribou to Alfred - with local leaders, business people, government officials, sportsmen and conservationists, developers and regular folks.

How was the report funded?

Producing and disseminating the Brookings report will cost close to a million dollars, with fundraising ongoing. About half of the needed total will go directly to Brookings and its subcontractors and to producing, printing and mailing the report. The other half is going toward public outreach.

How can a three-year-old organization like GrowSmart Maine afford such a hefty price tag while keeping its own fledgling organization intact? It has a wide base of support. Roughly one third of GrowSmart's funding comes from foundations, one third from businesses and one third from individuals and other organizations. "This is intentional," says GrowSmart President and CEO Alan Caron. "We are trying to bring people together across a wide spectrum of interests and geography and we want many different people to have a stake in the organization, and none to have a controlling influence."