The effectiveness of manufacturing extension: Economic development versus technology-diffusion policy

Since the 1980s federal and state governments expanded their roles in applied-technology policy to encourage economic competitiveness and development. This research is an examination of one such initiative—the Manufacturing Extension Partnership—a program comprised of a nationwide network of centers that provide productivity-enhancing services to small- and medium-manufacturing establishments (SMMEs). The research focuses on whether the mission of MEP has changed since the program's inception in 1988. The study focuses on an evaluation of the program as carried out by the Chicago-area center, the Chicago Manufacturing Center (CMC). CMC is the MEP center serving the six-county Chicago-metropolitan region. This case-study research elucidates the reasons behind program and policy changes that occurred moving the center away from a technology-diffusion-service provider to a more general-business-assistance resource. The research examines the implications for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders of program and policy changes that occurred since the program's inception.; The program concept, for what is currently termed manufacturing extension, is based on the provision of technology-related services to address many of the manufacturing-productivity-improvement barriers. Using a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques, this research demonstrates that delivery of these services has been somewhat limited in practice. After demonstrating that CMC and the MEP system are not delivering primarily technology-related services to the SMME-client base, the question of legitimacy is raised. I advocate that from the perspective of public policy and fiscal management it is important to examine program intent and actual delivery. Any deviation may suggest that the idea behind MEP is flawed, and a technology-diffusion program cannot be successful with limited public-sector funding, This suggests that the program needs to be redesigned to more adequately account for the realities of economy and the way SMMEs process information and make decisions. This question needs to be addressed directly, because if the recent downward trend in manufacturing performance continues the MEP program and its service delivery is sure to be scrutinized at the federal and subnational level.