Contact: Phyllis Levine at 845.896.6934 X3001 or by Email
Manufacturing Program Facing Federal Cuts
Named Best and Brightest for Harvard “Oscar”
May 5, 2004 - Today, Harvard recognized the achievements of the Hudson Valley Technology Development Center 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. 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.
The recognition for the MEP comes at a critical time. For the past six years, MEP has secured $106 million annually, due to widespread support in Congress. However, the Administration has reduced the program to $39.6 million for FY05. This constitutes a 63 percent decrease in the program's funding.
“This funding cut will have a dramatic impact on centers nationwide, including HVTDC. We may even be forced to close our doors,” said Thomas G. Phillips, Sr., Executive Director of HVTDC. “Hudson Valley's economy will be hurt by insufficient funding of such a vital program. MEP is unique in that if focuses on the smaller manufacturers who would normally not be able to access this type of service. Without competitive improvements, manufacturing will move out of state and out of the country. That means more lost jobs in New York. In order to boost the economy, MEP funding has to be reinstated to its full funding amount.”
HVTDC has been part of the MEP since 1994 and is one of ten Regional Technology Development Centers (RTDCs) in New York. The RTDCs have a long and successful record supporting small to medium sized manufacturers and companies engaged in entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, product development, and high-tech business incubation. The most recent client survey conducted by Synovate, an independent third party, reported over $108 million of positive economic impact, including nearly 900 jobs created or retained for the quarter ending 12/31/2003.The federal funding that each center receives has helped HVTDC to develop the structure and tools necessary to reach out to hundreds of small and medium sized manufacturers in their service delivery area.
You can see the Awards announcement at the Council for Excellence in Government website: http://www.excelgov.org/displaycontent.asp?keyword=aiHomePage and US Newswire: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=115-04282004
The summary results of the FY04 funding consequences can be found at: http://www.modforum.org/surveyresults.pdf
For more information, contact Phyllis Levine at 845-896-6934 X3001, via e-mail at plevine@hvtdc.org.