Programs and Funding Opportunities for Manufacturers and Small Chemical Businesses – Part I
ACS Webinars: Small & Medium Business Series
Do you know that the U.S. government provides much assistance to help small chemical manufacturing business better compete? The government sponsored Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP) is a national network with thousands of specialists that help manufacturers and small businesses, from improving productivity to expanding capacity. Join us with speaker Douglas Devereaux, Senior Industrial Specialist with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as he shares the must-know resources for chemical manufactures and small businesses!
“Programs and Funding Opportunities for Manufacturers and Small Chemical Businesses.” A short presentation followed by Q&A with speaker Douglas Devereaux, NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
What You Will Learn
- How MEP can assist you to develop important networks across technological domains and geographies.
- Available MEP resources to help your small business grow and enhance capital strategies.
- How MEP can help small chemical manufacturers solve challenges in supplier development, technology acceleration, sustainability, continuous improvements, and workforce development.
- Success stories and lessons learned from other small chemical businesses.
- And much more…
Webinar Details
Date: Thursday, September 2, 2010
Time: 2:00-3:00 pm ET
Fee: Free
(https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/140031307)
Meet Your Expert
Doug Devereaux is a Senior Industrial Specialist at the Manufacturing Extension Partnership at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Doug’s work includes developing the ability of MEP centers to capture and disseminate knowledge of financial resources and strategies that can be used by manufacturers to develop innovative products, or expand markets and sales. Over his 25 years experience in supporting national and state efforts to help modernize small manufacturers, Doug produced publications that addressed laboratory technology transfer practices, business incubator practices, science and engineering trends in Asia, community approaches to angel capital investment, and more recently, the MEP Growth Finance Guide. Previously, Doug served as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he advised senior officials in the development of policies supporting US technological competitiveness. Prior to that, Doug served in the North Carolina Department of Commerce where led industrial missions to the Pacific Rim. He holds a masters degree in International Management and Business Administration from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) and an undergraduate degree from Northern Arizona University.
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Disclaimer
ACS Webinars™ does not endorse any products or services. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the ACS.
It just occurred to me that Intellectual Property issues were not mentioned in this presentation and I wonder how the NIST Manufacturing Partnership deals with these important considerations. I also am unable to get the publication mentioned, “Quick Reference Guide to Growth Financing”, even though I followed the instructions given to access this on the site given; and when I use the search engine, all I get is testimony before Congress. Please help ! Thanks very much, best regards; if the Guide can be mailed, please send one copy to:
Trean K. Blumenthal, M.S.
Libra Technical Center
24 Norris Avenue
Metuchen, NJ 08840
Thank you for the question from Trean K. Blumenthal on the issue of intellectual property issues. We regret that we did not spend much time discussing IP due to limited time. However, in the service model we described which uses tech scouts to find technologies that offer a solution to a problem (and not to solve the problem themselves), intellectual property issues are accounted for. The intellectual property (IP) associated with the solution is typically owned by a potential partner of our services. If use of the solution is relevant to our client company’s need, then ownership of any associated IP would typically be governed by the contract between the company we are assisting (i.e. the client) and the tech scout. IP clauses could have the client owning all IP that results in a “work for hire” model, or could have defined stipulations on sharing any IP generated by the scouting effort. Prior to engaging in a contract both parties are expected to consider ownership of any potential IP that might be generated. In reality, the greater issue related to IP in scouting is likely to be one of confidentiality. A technology scout must be very careful to hold confidential all proprietary aspects of the client’s business to insure that the client’s present or future IP position is not damaged.
With regard to access to the Guide to financing, it is found on the manufacturing.gov website, under “toolbox.” http://www.manufacturing.gov/keyissues/tools.asp?dName=toolbox