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Washington, DC (4/ 28/04) – While you might never have heard of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, you can bet small manufacturers in Washington State have. Today, Harvard recognized the achievements of Washington Manufacturing Services (WMS) and the entire Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) network, by selecting it as one of 15 finalists for the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award by Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
“This is an extremely proud moment for the entire MEP organization and especially WMS and it validates for us the significant impact we are having on small and mid-sized manufacturers in WA State”, said John Vicklund, President of WMS.
As a finalist, MEP was described as one of the nation’s best “when it comes to vision, creativity and usefulness.” The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, part of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, selected the federal MEP program from a group of nearly 1,000 programs for its prestigious 2004 Innovations in American Government Awards. Finalists for the award, often called “the Oscars” for government programs, will make formal presentations to the National Selection Committee in May and five winners will be announced July 28 at the Excellence in Government 2004 Conference.
WMS, the Washington State MEP representative in Washington state is a not-for-profit organization with a singular goal: to help make Washington manufacturers more competitive globally. They bring cutting edge technology, techniques and best practices into a company and act as an extension of the organization. Local manufacturers who completed MEP projects in 2003 through WMS reported sales increases of $17 million, plant investments of $5 million and cost savings of $11 million.
The 17th annual Innovations in American Government Awards is a program of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. The award is administered in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government. The Ford Foundation founded the Ash Institute to identify and promote excellence and creativity in the public sector. The Awards used “four criteria to evaluate each application: novelty; effectiveness in addressing important problems; significance; and the potential for replication by other government entities.” The applicant pool included thousands of government entities including federal, state and local programs, as well as charter schools and organizations of American Indian Nations.
You can see the Awards announcement at the Council for Excellence in Government website, US Newswire, and Washington Manufacturing Services.
