United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1996-03-14 monographic deposited born digital 58 p. GA 1.13:GGD-96-75 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-75 P0b002ee18037dd6e f:gg96075 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-75 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-75 GGD-96-75 Small business assistance Research and development Manufacturing industry Technical assistance Strategic planning Productivity Systems conversions Surveys NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership DOD Technology Reinvestment Project Letter Report GGD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO surveyed manufacturers' views regarding the impact of manufacturing extension programs (MEP), focusing on: (1) factors contributing to the positive impact of overall business performance reported by the majority of survey respondents; (2) whether companies' expectations were met regarding MEP impact on specific business performance indicators; and (3) whether companies thought that MEP actually demonstrated attributes they valued most.<p/>GAO found that: (1) the results of its survey could not be applied to all MEP participants or all MEP service categories; (2) companies that supplemented MEP assistance with their own resources, implemented more MEP recommendations, were small and relatively new, and did not pay fees for MEP assistance were more likely to view the MEP program positively; (3) the source of MEP funding did not influence companies' views of the assistance's impact; (4) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) officials believed that NIST support improved MEP programs' efficiency and effectiveness and made MEP services more widely available; (5) about two-thirds to three-quarters of the companies that expected MEP assistance to enhance specific business indicators believed that the results met or exceeded their expectations; and (6) over 90 percent of the companies rated staff expertise, timely assistance, and reasonably priced MEP service fees and project proposals as important MEP features and most were satisfied with their specific MEP programs in these areas. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-75/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-75.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-75/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-75.pdf GAO/GGD-96-75 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-75 Letter Report GAO/GGD-96-75; Manufacturing Extension Programs: Manufacturers' Views About Delivery and Impact of Services; Small business assistance Research and development Manufacturing industry Technical assistance Strategic planning Productivity Systems conversions Surveys NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership DOD Technology Reinvestment Project