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TechHelp seeks small recurring support for Studio Blue director as grant funding declines
Summary
TechHelp at Boise State asked the committee for a modest state appropriation to sustain its Studio Blue product-development director role after a federal grant expired; the director described national impact metrics used to measure success.
Kevin Campbell, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented the TechHelp budget, which is housed at Boise State University and provides technical assistance to Idaho manufacturers.
Brad McDonald, executive director of TechHelp, told the committee that Studio Blue is TechHelp’s new-product-development arm and that the unit works statewide with small and medium-sized manufacturers. He described national “impact metrics” used across the manufacturing-extension partnership network to measure success, including retained and new jobs, sales increased for clients, cost savings, investments, client counts and net-promoter scores.
McDonald said Studio Blue benefited from a major federal grant that expired in September of the prior year and that TechHelp is trying to replace declining grant support with modest state funding to stabilize leadership. The department requested a $5,000 state appropriation this year directed toward the Studio Blue center director position and identified small fractional FTP increases in prior years to support the role; TechHelp requested a larger, ongoing state appropriation to make the position predictable and fully state-funded in the future.
Committee members asked how TechHelp measures success. McDonald said an independent third party conducts client surveys and the program reports metrics quarterly; he offered to provide the committee’s staff with the impact-metric reports.
Ending
TechHelp said it will provide the committee with its impact metrics and clarified that Studio Blue staff work statewide to support manufacturing firms and internships for students.
