NIST MEP program now 30 years old, impact is impressive
How well I remember the early years and the work that we did when I was at the University of Tennessee (UT) to have the institution’s Center for Industrial Services initially be part of and eventually designated as the Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) lead.
Now, the MEP National Network includes 51 Centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico and more than 1,300 trusted advisors and experts at more than 400 MEP service locations. The results are impressive.
According to a third party assessment by the W.E. Upjohn Institute, total U.S. employment in 2017 was higher by 219,000 jobs (than it would have been otherwise) because of services provided by the MEP National Network. These results translated into a 14.5:1 return on the $128 million in federal investment in Fiscal Year 2017.
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