Northern New England Precision Forest Management and Advanced Forest Bioproducts Engine (NNE-PROMISE) aims to advance forest technologies and grow the regional economy.

A collaborative proposal developed by the Northern Forest Center and higher education, NGO, government, and industry partners to support the regional forest economy is one of 29 initiatives selected to compete for National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines funding. 

The NNE-PROMISE proposal focuses on the forest economy of northern New England (ME, NH, VT) and seeks to position the region as a global leader in the forest products sector by expanding bioeconomy technology and commercialization of new products and services.  

The NSF Engines program aims to support multiple flourishing regional innovation ecosystems across the U.S., spurring economic growth in regions that have not fully participated in the technology boom of the past few decades. To date, the program has invested $135 million across nine NSF Engines and leveraged over $1 billion in matching commitments from private industry, philanthropy and state and local governments.  

Core NNE-PROMISE partners include the Universities of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, Maine Development Foundation, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, and Dartmouth College. The Northern Forest Center has facilitated development of the Engine with a development award secured from NSF in 2023. 

“It is exciting to be in the mix for this potentially transformational investment to stimulate innovation in the regional forest economy,” said Center President Rob Riley. 

“Each team was selected because it brought strong public and private partners to the table and outlined a promising vision for research, innovation and workforce development in their respective regions of service, thereby advancing U.S competitiveness, national security and economic growth,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. 

During the next stage, NSF will conduct live, virtual assessments of the semifinalist teams to gain further understanding of their regional coalitions, the alignment of their proposed leadership teams and core partners, and their visions for research and development as well as translation. NSF will select the finalists following these assessments and anticipates announcing the final list of NSF Engines awards in early 2026.