Accelerating Advanced Manufacturing with New Research Centers

Manufacturing remains a critical sector for the economic health of the nation as a whole and for the states. The sector accounts for the bulk of U.S. exports, is key to innovation, and provides many high-wage jobs for less educated workers. So reversing or at least stemming manufacturing job losses is essential to an economic recovery that leads to a sustained period of exportoriented, innovation-fueled, opportunity-rich economic growth. For these and other reasons, manufacturing should be an important part of state job growth strategies. But state efforts are not focused on what would be most helpful for manufacturers: which is helping them, particularly small and medium-sized businesses in the manufacturing supply chain, develop or apply more advanced technologies. To remedy this problem, states should create advanced manufacturing centers that provide both research to develop new, relevant technologies and the education to help businesses throughout the supply chain apply these technologies to their work. These centers would take only a modest investment of $9 million per year, which is a small share of what states typically spend on traditional business attraction efforts