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Maine Woods Consortium

WHY IT STARTED

The Maine Woods Consortium (MWC) traces its beginnings to 2001 and the creation of the Maine Mountain Heritage Network. Focusing on heritage development projects from across Franklin, Oxford, Somerset and Piscataquis Counties, this group engaged a diverse network of organizations in projects that included strategic analysis of regional development opportunities, a “signature products” marketing campaign, and a traveling media exhibit of natural and cultural heritage. In 2008, the group began talking with leaders from other Maine woods counties (Aroostook, Penobscot, and Washington), and the advantages of collaborative efforts that included the entire Maine woods, not just the mountain region, was clear to everyone. Consortium members have always realized how intertwined the economy, environment, and communities of the region are, and so have maintained their focus on seeking cross-sector initiatives that advance opportunities for the region’s people, businesses, and communities.

WHO IS INVOLVED

The Maine Woods Consortium is made up of a coordinating team of twelve organizations whose core missions align well with the purpose and values of the Consortium. These organizations represent a broad range of sectors: tourism, economic development, conservation, and business. MWC concentrates its efforts in three areas:

1. Information sharing to promote awareness, collaboration and innovation among Maine woods stakeholders;
2. Expanding the influence of members on relevant large-scale Maine Woods initiatives; and
3. Incubating and guiding investment in initiatives that advance the economic, community and ecological well-being of the Maine Woods region.
   

HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER

The Maine Woods Consortium doesn’t live within a single organization; it isn’t a “project of” a particular organization; and it doesn’t have a home organizational base. It is interesting that, even without those typical elements that organize people’s efforts, the Consortium has enjoyed a high level of cohesion. Mike Wilson, senior program director for the Northern Forest Center, is the current Network Coordinator, succeeding Bruce Hazard who had been the founding leader of the group.

Currently the Consortium focuses its efforts on two core areas: information sharing and a long-term tourism development strategy. It employs a “triumvirate” coordination approach to share learning and increase knowledge; responsibilities, such as quarterly meeting agendas, logistics, and planning are shared by a team that includes Mike Wilson, Keith Bisson from Coastal Enterprises, Inc., and Mike Eisensmith from Northern Maine Development Commission, as well as other members of the Consortium as appropriate. The Consortium meets quarterly in January, April, July, and October to share ideas and updates on activities. Each quarterly session includes a focused discussion on one particular issue, where others are invited in for learning and to explore opportunities together.

MWC’s Maine tourism development strategy has become the core of the Consortium’s activity. This initiative was catalyzed by a partnership with the Betterment Fund through which MWC guides investment in tourism development projects with the potential to increase livable wage tourism jobs in the Maine woods. A good example of a network-based tourism project supported by the MWC is the Maine Woods Tourism Training Initiative (MWTII). Through MWTTI, six county-based networks have come together with representation from economic development, Chambers of Commerce, Adult Education, and Community Colleges, to provide direct training to small tourism business owners and their employees. In 2011 these networks have provided training to over 300 people from 175 businesses. Trainings have addressed issues ranging from customer service to interpretation, marketing and social media and have been delivered through various methodologies, such as ½ day workshops in shoulder seasons offered in multiple county-based locations or on-line customer service modules.

CHALLENGES

MWC members consistently run up against two challenges. First is maintaining the group’s disbursed ownership/leadership model. Given everyone’s busy schedule, it is easy for everything to become concentrated in the Coordinator, even as the MWC intentionally tries to not let that happen. The closely related (and seemingly conflicting challenge) is securing financial resources to compensate the coordinator’s organization for the time invested in keeping network functioning with meetings, notes, project coordination and simply serving as a “nudge” to help members follow through on commitments. 

These challenges require the MWC to balance carefully between the need to maintain shared leadership and the reality that someone needs to invest time in the basic mechanics of network support and development. Key to maintaining this balance is ensuring that the group’s scope of work remains interesting and provides real value to network members. The fact that the MWC operates across a very large geography can also pose challenges.

PROGRESS TOWARDS GOAL

The Consortium’s work has developed organically; the most tangible numeric goals thus far have been around the tourism initiatives, where a large number of businesses have been involved. In the future, the Maine Woods Consortium looks forward to expanding the membership to bring more business, land owner, and conservation voices to the table. The MWC intends to continue its integrated approach, knowing that the issues of the environment influence the economy, and that both influence the quality of life of the region’s communities.