Taking the University to Rural Manufacturers in the USA

Abstract

This paper examines how the Cooperative Extension System can be positioned as a collaborator in advancing manufacturing modernization in the USA. The authors consider whether the Cooperative Extension System has an interest in assisting manufacturers and, if so, what capacity it can bring that is complementary to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Technology Centers. They also assess whether there are sufficient parallel interests between the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership programme (in rural areas) and the Cooperative Extension System to warrant closer coordination and collaboration at the federal, state and local levels.

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Urban manufacturers mayalso be relevant to CES. They are certainly relevant to the general scientific/research community at all large universities. In any event, food scientists and foresters (of the schools of agriculture and/or forestry) are frequently called upon for technical support by urban food and fibre processors.