Evaluating Industrial Modernization: Methods, Results, and Insights from the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Alliance

Philip Shapira is Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology. Jan Youtie is a Senior Research Associate at Georgia Tech’s Economic Development Institute. Overview This paper examines the experience of the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Alliance (GMEA) in implementing an evaluation of its industrial extension services. As part of the U.S. Manufacturing Extension partnership, GMEA provides assistance to manufacturers to resolve industrial and business problems and upgrade technology, training, and business performance, focusing primarily on firms within the state of Georgia. The program has established an evaluation component along with other assessment and review mechanisms. Several evaluation methods are employed, including customer surveys, economic analyses of benefits and costs, controlled studies, and logic-based case studies. The paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of these different approaches, reviews the insights each method offers, and discusses how the resulting evaluative information is used.