Wednesday, November 26, 2003
According to the respected Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, Congress is moving to cut the main federal program serving America's small manufacturers by 63 percent.
For the last 15 years, a federal government initiative, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program, has operated as a partnership among federal, state and local organizations and institutions, including the private sector, to help small manufacturers improve their performance.
Although the federal government provides funding for the program, the money is not used to subsidize small firms. Firms are expected to pay the incremental costs of direct services.
Congress will provide only $39.6 million for MEP this year. Last year, Congress funded MEP at $106.6 million. According to MMTC, the cuts will effectively gut the program.
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Cut successful manufacturing initiatives? Go figure.
