This award is to Montana Tech (Lead Institution) to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179).
Partners The partners for the award are Montana Tech, Montana Department of Commerce, Montana State University-Northern, Structural Dynamics Research Corporation, PFM Manufacturing, S&K Electronics, Lincoln Electric Company.
Proposed Activities The activities for the project include: developing systems through which educational resources can be rapidly deployed to the widely distributed population of Montana, creating virtual organizations through which independent organizations efficiently combine core competencies to attain strategic market advantages, development of on-line courses in concurrent engineering and collaborative commerce, establishment of procedures and systems through which Montana's private industry can rapidly and efficiently for mutually beneficial collaborations with units of the Montana University System, and advancement of the state-of-the-art in collaborative methodologies.
Proposed Innovation The proposed innovation is the development and establishment of state-of-the-art systems and methodologies for collaborative virtual organizations to promote combination of core competencies for a rural economy that is widely dispersed.
Potential Economic Impact The proposed economic impact is the potential to increase the ability of small companies to respond to opportunities for business by combining their core competencies in virtual organizations. The average company size in Montana is 12 employees and the ability of any one company to meet the talents needed to compete is limited to its talent pool. Combinations of talents from several companies increases the opportunity to respond to business opportunities on an ad hoc basis.
Potential Societal Impact The economy of Montana is dominated by farm income which has remained constant for more than 20 years. The average company size in the state is 12 employees. The population is sparsely dispersed. Increased business revenue that will result from these companies becoming more competitive will create much-needed wealth for stability and growth. The project involves underrepresented minorities, especially native Americans in the business enterprise of Montana
