Policy

Advancing Policy and Partnerships for Island and Coastal Communities 

From the working waterfront to Washington, D.C., Island Institute’s policy team works at the intersection of community engagement, government relations, and advocacy. We support communities by translating policy, funding, and technical information into actionable guidance that expands opportunities and delivers solutions. Through a collaborative approach, we convene community leaders, industry stakeholders, scientists, and agency partners to identify shared challenges and priorities. Grounded in long-standing relationships across Maine’s coast, we elevate local knowledge alongside data and research so state and federal policy and funding decisions reflects the realities of island and coastal life. This work extends into coastal communities through our programs focused on climate, the marine economy, and building community capacity.

Through our policy work, we are proud to have supported a number of achievements for Maine’s coastal communities, including:

• Led coalition efforts to secure $25 million for privately owned working waterfronts damaged by the 2023 and 2024 winter storms to rebuild with resilience.

• Established a new program, Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project (ETIPP), through securing Congressional language and funding for the U.S. Department of Energy to help island and remote communities address energy resilience issues. Continued advocacy for the program has led to nearly $65 million to support nearly 100 projects in more than 75 communities nationally.
• Changed state law to allow land trusts to own working waterfront covenants, increasing the options available for securing long-term protection for working waterfronts.

• Led a successful $15 million bond initiative to support the construction of high-speed, reliable internet in rural Maine, with more than 75% voters approving the ballot measure.

Current Policy Priorities

Island Institute’s policy team focuses on the most pressing issues for Maine’s coast, including working waterfronts, resilient energy, and affordable housing.

Working Waterfronts

We support community-level planning, funding, and policies to ensure that Maine’s island and coastal communities have working waterfront infrastructure and access for marine livelihoods to endure. Island Institute is helping to inform how the State is approaching permitting for piers and wharves. We are partnering with the Department of Environmental Protection to convene engineers, municipal officials, working waterfront owners, partner organizations, and state agency staff from various agencies with regulatory and permitting jurisdiction over the working waterfront.

In addition, Island Institute has played a leadership role in advancing Maine’s broader blue economy strategy, including co-chairing a blue economy task force that recommended establishing a dedicated center for the blue economy at Maine Technology Institute. Island Institute also participates in and coordinates the Working Waterfront Coalition, which brings together stakeholders to work with the State’s Working Waterfront Advisory Council to identify and seek solutions to challenges facing working waterfronts in Maine. The group also submits annual recommendations to the Legislature on potential policy changes and support for addressing those identified challenges. Together, these efforts help build long-term capacity and support a resilient future for Maine’s marine economy.

Affordable & Resilient Energy

Many of Maine’s rural, coastal communities have limited or unreliable access to the energy systems that they need to thrive. We leverage policies and government relations to ensure communities have the technical knowledge and funding support to implement affordable and reliable energy solutions. We continue to work closely with the Department of Energy and various national labs on the Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Program.

Island Institute is one of nine regional partners, and funding for this work has been one of our top federal policy priorities. Since 2018, we have led the coalition advocating for this work—driving nearly $65 million to support island and remote communities as they face complex energy challenges. We also help other regional partner organizations educate and inform Members of Congress about the important work this program enables to broaden Congressional support for this funding.

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Stories: Policy in Action

.Meet the Policy Team

As Island Institute’s Chief Policy and External Affairs Officer, Nick Battista provides proactive and strategic policy support for work across the organization, providing strategic support to our project teams, and increasing our effectiveness in engaging policy makers. Reach out to Nick at nbattista@islandinstitute.org.

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