NextFlex News – September 2021 Newsletter

Dear Members and Friends,

I want to start this letter by thanking you for your ongoing and steadfast support of NextFlex and our collective goals as we’ve worked together to complete projects, update manufacturing roadmaps, and accelerate the growth of the future workforce. We rely on your guidance to chart our path, and there are lots of ways that you can have a say in where NextFlex is headed. It’s critical that members’ voices are heard, and below are a few ways that you can provide us with input:

1. Attend a project briefing webinar to receive an update on the status of any NextFlex funded project, and then contact us afterward to tell us what you thought and what your related interests are, so that we know more about what you’re looking for in a collaboration.
2. If you’re a Tier 3 member, attend a quarterly Tier 3 Member Webinar and take the opportunity to ask questions or offer comment directly to the staff on what you’ve heard.
3. Twice yearly, we reach out to all member Primary Contacts to see how you’re doing, to make sure you’re aware of upcoming activities, and to listen to your needs. Let’s have a substantive discussion of your capabilities and goals, and I’m sure we’ll discover new opportunities to work together.
4. Tell us about the workforce development issues you’re facing in your geographic area. We are actively seeking partners to help grow our connections to local community colleges, schools and universities across the country.
5. Respond to surveys. Your feedback about satisfaction is important to us and we routinely send surveys following events to make sure we’re delivering compelling presentations and experiences.
6. Join a Technical Working Group. These groups are responsible for developing future-looking manufacturing roadmaps across many process and application areas. Most importantly, these groups recommend topics for future funded project calls.
7. Take on a leadership role, either on a Technical Working Group or an event organizing committee.
8. Utilize our new Member Portal which has been live for about 6 months now; we continue to make improvements based on member feedback.

If these ideas are not enough, just pick up the phone or drop us an email! We’re here to help.

Keep the good ideas coming,

Malcolm J. Thompson, PhD