This Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project--a Type III (A: C) partnership between Oklahoma State University (OSU), an NSF PFI graduate (0332723), and Cameron University (Lawton, OK), an institution new to the PFI Program (defined as one that has never been a PFI grantee)--builds upon the previous PFI award which enabled the creation of the New Product Development Center (NPDC) at OSU. This proposal provides a multidisciplinary approach to the integration of three education programs with the aim of building innovation activities in small- and medium-sized U.S. manufacturing firms (SMMs). These three programs are 1) the Manufacturers Innovation Leadership Program (MILP), designed for manufacturers who have leadership potential within SMMs; 2) the Presidential Innovation and Creativity Scholars (PICS), which will create multidisciplinary teams of senior college students and faculty, who will produce and process innovation projects with small manufacturers participating in MILP; and 3) the Innovation Program for Teachers (IPT) which provides K-12 teachers an opportunity to take an internet-delivered class on manufacturing innovation. MILP will embrace a combination of experiential, problem-based, and research-based learning. Project participants will study innovation successes, learn about innovation processes, perform research to evaluate alternative solutions to problems, and be mentored by, and interact with, leaders in innovation from SMMs as well as by university faculty.
The future global competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing depends on the innovation capacity of SMMs. Societal and economic impacts include job creation and retention, wealth creation, student education, minority manufacturing capabilities, and K-12 education for innovation. By targeting manufacturing capability in the state, the project will have a direct impact on the diverse, lower income populations of Oklahoma. Moreover, an explicit effort is made to include underrepresented groups, including military veterans, in the state of Oklahoma in all facets of this project.
Partners at the inception of the project are Academic Institutions: Oklahoma State University (OSU) (lead institution) and Cameron University; Private Sector Organizations: Charles Machine Works, Lucas Metal Works, Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, and Stolhand Heating and Air Conditioning; and State and Local Governments: Oklahoma EPSCoR and Oklahoma Center for Advancement of Science and Technology (Oklahoma City).
The NSF-PFI project supported Oklahoma Sate Unviersity's New Product Development Center's efforts to enhance the innovation capacity of manufacturers in Oklahoma. NSF-PFI support for both the administation of the New Product Development Center(NPDC) as well as students working in the New Product Development Center was crucial to successful development of a sustinable center. The NSF-PFI grant allowed the NPDC to hire additional staff and pursue additional funding sources. The grant supported the development of an innovation course in the Department of Educational Technology that demonstrates how to integrate creativity and innovation in the K12 classroom. As a result of the NSF-PFI project and the added support from other successful grants and contracts as well as university support, the New Proudct Development Center was able to 1) hire Dr. Robert Taylor as a full-time director; 2) hire three full-time design engineers; 3) hire a grant coordinator who completed an M.S. degree in Educational Technology; 4) expand the square footage of laboratory space available for innovation projects for Oklahoma manufacturers; 5) greatly expand the number and diversity of experiences available to undergraduate and graduate student interns employed at NPDC; and 6) add to educational opportunities for teachers, companies and students with an interest in innovation. During the four years of the NSF-PFI project, faculty members, staff and students associated with NPDC generated $5.4 million of addition, complementary grant support to complete innovation projects for companies and inventors. Additional sources of support came from the National Institure of Standards and Technology, the Oklahoma Center for Advancemnt of Science and Technology, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Small Business Administration, The Economic Development Administration, the Deparment of Energy, and the Education and Training Administration. Outcomes of the project include: Completion of 87 projects for 82 companies including comapnies owned by the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Delaware tribes. Committments from companies of $289,000 to match grant support. Based on surveys of client companies, the impacts of the porjects for manuacturers were $38 million in additional sales, $9 million of cost savings, 117 jobs retained, and 98 new jobs. Support for completion of 172 projects for inventors including 46 projects that have received prototyping and/or marketing support. In the last 12 months of the NSF-PFI project a pay-for-service model has evolved and companies have committed $170,000 of contract support for NPDC projects. During the period of the project, 112 undergraduate student interns and 14 graduate student assistants were employed at the NPDC. Student employees majors included: mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, accounting, veterinary medicine, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering technology, and education technology. Students in education and engineering and technology management have courses available that focus on innovation, creativity, new product development, and commercialization. Fifteen current active duty personnel have completed the engineering and technology management class on new product development and commercialization. The Center for Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurial Studies at Cameron University held ofur activities, forums, and competitions to develop local partnerships to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. The investigators associated with this project plant to continue to be a part of the innovation ecosystem in Oklahoma and the U.S. to provide engineering, scientific, business and educational programs for manufacturing managers, students, teachers, and faculty with an interest in innovation and technology transfer. The continuing goal is to further enhance the competive positions of Oklahoma manufactuers.
