In addition, our results do not apply to all MEP services because we limited our analysis to four MEP service categories. Our survey revealed no significant differences in how the companies viewed the impact on their overall business performance of MEP that did and did not receive NIST funds. Also, they said that they believed NIST support improves programs’ efficiency and effectiveness, which are dimensions of MEP that our survey did not address. We found that most of the companies (between 61 and 77 percent) reported that MEP assistance met or exceeded their expectations for improvements to specific business performance indicators, such as manufacturing time frames, the quality of market research, and sales to new and repeat customers. 1). 2). 3). 4). Ninety-one percent of respondents rated reasonably priced MEP service fees and project proposals as important MEP attributes, and most were satisfied with the price of fees and proposals costs at their own program. Our objectives for this report were to analyze (1) the factors that may have contributed to the positive impact of MEP assistance on companies’ overall business performance; (2) the question of whether companies’ expectations were met regarding the impact of MEP assistance on specific business performance indicators, such as manufacturing time frames and labor productivity; and (3) the issue of whether MEP actually demonstrated attributes that companies indicated they valued most, such as MEP staff expertise, timely assistance, and reasonably priced fees. In designing our survey questions, we obtained input from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and MEP officials, MEP evaluation experts, and managers at manufacturing facilities. Companies receiving recommendations were more likely to devote more staff hours to the program and to make financial investments as a result of MEP assistance.
Why GAO Did This Study

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.

What GAO Found

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.