Working with unique and special communities on many different projects has taught us that there is no "magic bullet" that resolves every challenge. Complex issues require multi-faceted support, and the Island Institute has developed a number of innovative and creative strategies to best support the year-round island and working waterfront communities of Maine.

Although these communities can be viewed as microcosms, they are special places that face unique challenges and have distinctive priorities. From over 30 years of collaboration with island and coastal constituents, the Island Institute has developed priorities that address needs shared by multiple island communities. In this way, our organization takes an ecological approach to supporting the island and coastal communities of the Gulf of Maine: recognizing that everything in the region—human and environmental—is connected.