Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

Summary
Pages 1-8

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 1...
... In response, a committee of the STEP Board held a series of fact-finding workshops and commissioned research papers and case studies to review and document the program's current achievements, challenges, and new opportunities. The Committee also identified and reviewed similar national programs from abroad in order to draw on foreign practices, funding levels, and accomplishments as a point of reference and to discuss current U.S.
From page 2...
...  Regulation, for example environmental regulation, is changing the way that manufacturing operates in the United States, and firms must adapt here too. The population of manufacturing companies and MEP's market targets  The actual number of potential clients -- i.e., manufacturing firms -- in any given center's region varies substantially, from almost 30,000 firms in southern California to less than 3,000 in some smaller states  Manufacturers range in size from the large majority with fewer than 20 employees, to a handful with many thousands.
From page 3...
... NIST MEP can influence center choices and encourage new initiatives, e.g., the Next Generation Strategy, but insofar as NIST MEP provides a maximum of one third of center funding, this tends to limit leverage on day-to-day operations. Moreover, in practice, center funding formulas are largely fixed, with very limited discretion for MEP management to shift resources across centers.
From page 4...
... MEP centers encounter significant risks as they seek to transition from a tight focus on lean production to a much wider range of services that require new clients, new contacts, new kinds of client conversations, new services, new toolsets and capabilities.6  U.S. Support for Manufacturing: o While the United States has numerous public organizations engaged in applied research, notably in fields such as medicine, agriculture, energy, and defense, large segments of the U.S.
From page 5...
... CORE RECOMMENDATIONS While the committee finds that the MEP program provides valuable help to small manufacturers, with the enhancements recommended here, the program will be an increasingly important element in the nation's portfolio of programs to support manufacturing and the jobs it brings.  Funding for MEP should be commensurate with the importance of manufacturing: o Funding for MEP should be commensurate with the importance of manufacturing to the growth of the economy and the program's proven ability to contribute to improved firm performance and adapt to the changing needs of the manufacturing sector.
From page 6...
... manufacturing sector rather than focus on reaching the maximum number of manufacturers.f  In order to refine the MEP to better serve its mission: o Single provider contracts should be used sparingly, should require a detailed justification, and should have clear deliverables and metrics, and be closely monitored. o NIST MEP should be more flexible in the management of the funding of MEP centers.g o The fixed federal match of one-to-two from the states and centers should be changed to a match approach with more flexibility for NIST management and the centers.h The Findings and Recommendations outlined in Chapter 8 spell out these issues in greater detail.
From page 7...
... o Any effort to establish programs to further support manufacturing should thoroughly assess existing U.S. resources, organizations and institutions already engaged in applied research and should take into account lessons from U.S.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.