AUGUSTA – An advisory panel named in December urged Gov. John Baldacci on Tuesday to boost from $8 million to $20 million the amount he has proposed for promoting promising business sectors in Maine during the next two years.

The recommendation by the Council on Jobs, Innovation and the Economy echoes one part of a report last year from the Brookings Institution that suggested new paths to prosperity in Maine.

After meeting with council members Tuesday, Baldacci said he hopes to earmark more money for what is called cluster development “as it becomes available.”

The council is expected within two or three weeks to issue another recommendation for borrowing to support investments in research and development.

The Brookings report, released last October, called for a $180 million bond.

The council’s initial recommendation on cluster development declared that “To create good paying jobs and a robust economy in Maine, the state must grow its most promising sectors and focus its investments including business support, work force training and R&D spending in these areas.”

A cluster development fund, it said, should be “open to all sectors based in all geographies of the state” and “be awarded to industry-led consortiums in an open, competitive forum with third party review.”

The council said the fund should be administered by the Maine Technology Institute, a state-funded, private nonprofit organization.

Baldacci, who just returned from the National Governors’ Association winter meeting in Washington, said innovation and cluster development are focuses for government nationally.

“In this global economy, it’s vital that Maine place itself in a strong competitive position,” he said in a statement, noting that Maine’s North Star Alliance – a cluster of composite technology, boat builders and marine trades – was funded a year ago by a $15 million WIRED grant from the U.S. Labor Department.

“Cluster development is a growth strategy for the future of Maine,” Baldacci said. “It’s about using our competitive assets and building on our strengths.”

The “Charting Maine’s Future” report by the Brookings Institution said in part that the state should “trim government to invest in Maine’s economy and finance tax reduction.”

Championed by GrowSmart Maine, which bills itself as a statewide nonprofit citizens organization, the report recommended the development of a $200 million Maine Innovation Jobs Fund targeting science and technology and the establishment of a $190 million Maine Quality Places Fund, drawing on an increase in the state’s lodging tax, to revitalize cities and towns, support land conservation and promote tourism.

The report also envisioned a reduction in property taxes and a lowering of the top income tax, concepts which are under discussion in the Legislature’s Taxation Committee.