21st Century Manufacturing The Role of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (2013) / Chapter Skim
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1 The Structure and Role of MEP
1 The Structure and Role of MEP
Pages 9-28
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From page 9... ...
The mission of these regional centers was to support the transfer of manufacturing technology to improve the productivity and technological capabilities of America's small manufacturers. The number of centers grew rapidly to provide services to all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and in 1998, the program was renamed the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
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From page 10... ...
MEP's mission is to "act as a strategic advisor to promote business growth and connect manufacturers to public and private resources essential for increased competitiveness and profitability."a Program Scale: The NIST-MEP federal budget for 2013 is $123 million. The total NIST MEP headquarters staff numbers some 45 people who focus on setting strategy, evaluating the needs and demands of clients, helping facilitate the development of tools, and bringing together the centers into a shared network.
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From page 11... ...
Frazier, "The Imperatives of Successful Policy Implementation: A Case Study of the Hollings National Institute of Standards and TechnologyManufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST-MEP) Program's Implementation in Arkansas," International Journal of Learning & Development, 2012, Vol.
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From page 12... ...
At the state level, a number of technology-based economic development organizations also provide support for small manufacturing companies. 9 Dan Luria, "Why Markets Tolerate Mediocre Manufacturing," Challenge, 1996, 39, 4, 11-16; National Academy of Public Administration, The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Program, Report 1, "Reexamining the Core Premise of the MEP Program," 2003; Susan Helper and Marcus Stanley, "Creating Innovation Networks Among Manufacturing Firms: How Effective Extension Programs Work," in Scott Shane, ed., Economic Development through Entrepreneurship: Government, University and Business Linkages; Edward Elgar, 2006; Stephen J
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From page 13... ...
and to help firms address competition from firms in other countries which benefit from well-established public systems of technology and manufacturing support.11 Third, there is a cooperative technology rational for manufacturing extension and technology services where such services bring companies, universities, associations, and other organizations together in innovation networks, collaborations, and value chains to reduce transaction costs and coordinate and leverage resources.12 MEP STRUCTURE MEP can be divided into the headquarters, regional offices, and partners, including the MEP centers. There is also a national advisory board that provides strategic advice but is not operationally integrated into MEP.
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From page 14... ...
SOURCE: NIST MEP. MEP Mission According to MEP, its mission is "To act as a strategic advisor to promote business growth and connect manufacturers to public and private resources essential for increased competitiveness and profitability."14 Because MEP is construed as a partnership between the federal government and local centers operated independently and funded in part both by federal and state dollars, NIST MEP has always sought to maintain a delicate strategic balance between encouraging centers to adopt what it sees as advanced services, and recognizing that its leverage is limited.
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The Role of the MEP Centers NIST MEP partners with local organizations to provide services to local manufacturers. It currently accredits and funds 60 centers with about 370 field locations, with a total of about 1,450 nonfederal staff.
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Colorado: Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology Connecticut: Connecticut State Technology Extension Program Delaware: Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership Florida: Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership Georgia: Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership Hawaii: INNOVATE Hawaii Idaho: Idaho TechHelp Illinois: Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center - Downstate Indiana: Indiana MEP Purdue Technical Assistance Program Iowa: Iowa Center for Industrial Research and Service Kansas: Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center Kentucky: Advantage Kentucky Alliance Louisiana: Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Louisiana Maine: Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership Massachusetts: Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership Michigan: Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center Minnesota: Enterprise Minnesota Mississippi: InnovateMEP Mississippi Missouri: Missouri Enterprise Montana: Montana Manufacturing Extension Center Nebraska: Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership Nevada: Nevada Industry Excellence New Hampshire: New Hampshire Manufacturing Extension Partnership New Jersey: New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program New Mexico: New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership New York: New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership North Carolina: North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership North Dakota: North Dakota Manufacturing Extension Partnership Ohio: Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership Oklahoma: Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance Oregon: Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership Pennsylvania: Catalyst Connection Pennsylvania: Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center Pennsylvania: IMC-PA Pennsylvania: MANTEC Pennsylvania: Manufacturers Resource Center Pennsylvania: Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center Pennsylvania: Northwest Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico Manufacturing Extension Inc. Rhode Island: Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Services South Carolina: South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership South Dakota: South Dakota Manufacturing and Technology Solutions Tennessee: Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Partnership
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Accessed July 12, 2013. Box 1-2 Examples of MEP Center Models The MEP program has evolved to include several differing center business models.
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18 21ST CENTURY MANUFACTURING FIGURE 1-2 Schematic of center partnerships and relationships.
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small- and mid-sized manufacturing enterprises employ fewer than 20 workers, while under one-tenth are in the prime MEP target range of 50-299 workers. 16MEP customers range from those eager to grow and willing to adopt new approaches to those who are simply seeking to stay afloat in what have been hard times for manufacturing.
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From page 20... ...
$&785,1* MEP: The Federal Manufacturing Extension Partnership Y2K: Additional Federal Funds to Update Software TRP: Technology Reinvestment Project Other: Additional Supplements to the MEP Budget 160 140 62.4 Funding Level (Millions of Dollars)
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According to GAO, 7 centers reported no state funding in FY 2010, although 15 also reported that they received more than half of their funding from the states. 20 Some MEP centers have also reported that the recent downturn has made it more challenging to meet the required cost-share.
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From page 22... ...
A number of centers also argue that the cost-share helps them to avoid duplication of efforts with other partners within the economic development community. Negative Effects of the Cost-Share .Notwithstanding these affirmative responses, the GAO notes that MEP centers cited more negative than positive effects in the current MEP cost-share.
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The GAO notes that many MEP centers reported that "seeking out and accounting for in-kind contributions is burdensome and diverts resources from supporting small manufacturers."26 A separate study, commissioned by NIST, also recommended that the cost-share requirements be changed to a 1:1 ratio.27 That review of the MEP business model noted that the MEP program was the only program at the Department of Commerce with a cost-share that exceeded a 1:1 match. Indeed, many of the Department of Commerce programs have no nonfederal cost-share requirement.
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. 32 See Roger Kilmer, "MEP's Place in the Innovation Chain," in National Research Council, Strengthening American Manufacturing: The Role of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership -- Summary of a Symposium, op.
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MEP Within the NIST Portfolio In the context of U.S. manufacturing, the MEP program is relatively small at around $300 million, with a federal contribution in 2013 of $123 million.
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Many of these foreign programs, described in Chapter 7 (and Appendix A) of this study, focus on Technology Readiness Levels 3 to 7 (with some variations across programs.)
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This creates a tension between NIST MEP's efforts to drive centers to adopt particular services and the demand for services by manufacturing companies served by MEP centers.37 THIS REPORT At the request of NIST, an ad hoc committee of the National Academies has prepared a report that addresses two complementary tasks: an evaluation of the operation, achievements, and challenges of MEP and a review of a selected number of similar national programs from abroad. This consensus report brings together this work, with recommendations to improve the MEP program's operations and impact.
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From page 28... ...
Addressing the second facet of the Statement of Task, which is to "identify and review similar national programs from abroad in order to draw on foreign practices, funding levels, and accomplishments as a point of reference; and discuss current needs and initiatives in light of the global focus on advanced manufacturing." Chapter 7 provides an overview of leading foreign programs to support applied research and manufacturing, revealing the significant scope and commitment of efforts around the world. This analysis is further deepened by a review, found in Appendix A, of five leading national programs to support applied research and manufacturing: Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)
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