Why Policy Issue Networks Matter: The Advanced Technology Program and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Why Policy Issue Networks Matter/I tells the story of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), two cooperative policy initiatives administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), US Department of Commerce. Paul Hallacher’s book is based upon the review of relevant legislation and a wide range of reports by congressional agencies and committees, federal executive agencies, various outside interest groups, and the scholarly literature, as well as interviews and opinion surveys conducted with policy elites directly involved in ATP and MEP policymaking. This detailed study of the institutions and processes that created adn sustained these two initiatives will be of interest to those concerned with cooperative technology policy as well as broader science and technology policy issues, or the general study of public policymaking.