United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1995-09-18 monographic deposited born digital 68 p. GA 1.13:RCED-95-212 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-212 P0b002ee18038d29c f:rc95212 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-212 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-212 RCED-95-212 Small business assistance Technical assistance Information dissemination operations Appropriated funds Information centers Reference service operations Sunset legislation Project monitoring NIST Pilot Technology Access Program Minnesota Project Outreach SBA Small Business Development Center Program NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Pilot Technology Access Program (TAPP), focusing on the: (1) program's effectiveness and impact on improving small business productivity and innovation; and (2) experiences and the lessons learned by the TAPP centers during the pilot program.<p/>GAO found that: (1) Congress has decided not to fund TAPP beyond fiscal year (FY) 1995; (2) one TAPP center has operated independently on a reduced scale since FY 1993 and the remaining five centers plan to continue operations beyond FY 1995, but they are not sure of their organization, services, and funding; (3) the five centers serviced 1,840 businesses in FY 1994, of which 59 percent were manufacturers and 66 percent were businesses just getting started; (4) TAPP services included technical and nontechnical information, and technical, patent, and marketing assistance; (5) although the program's impact could not be determined, TAPP clients were generally satisfied with the centers' operations and services; (6) center officials were generally pleased with their programs' development and believed that certain individual projects produced favorable results; and (7) lessons learned from TAPP that should be considered in designing future programs include adding more specificity to program goals and objectives, determining whether a separate and distinct federal program is necessary, determining the organizational type best suited to manage such a program, and deciding program funding options. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-212/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-212.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-212/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-212.pdf GAO/RCED-95-212 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-212 Letter Report GAO/RCED-95-212; Federal Research: Lessons Learned from the Pilot Technology Access Program; Small business assistance Technical assistance Information dissemination operations Appropriated funds Information centers Reference service operations Sunset legislation Project monitoring NIST Pilot Technology Access Program Minnesota Project Outreach SBA Small Business Development Center Program NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership Public Law 101-574 Public Law 102-140