Questionnaire for Participant Firms of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms (TAAF) Program

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Introduction

 

The following survey will ask you to consider your experience working with the Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (TAAC), the consultants that carried out your firm's projects, and the effect that the matching funds and assistance from the TAAC had on your firm. The questions are intended to gauge the impact that the program had on your firm, and to give participating firms an opportunity to give feedback on what is good about the program and what needs improvement. GAO will use the results of this survey to report to Congress about the effectiveness of the TAAF program. When responding, you may consult with others who are also familiar with this topic if you think it will help you give a more accurate answer. To assist you in consulting with others, you may print the survey before completing it on line by following the instructions below.

To learn more about completing the questionnaire, printing your responses, and who to contact if you have questions, click here.

Thank you in advance for your assistance in taking part in our survey.
 
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Outreach And TAA Center Services Received

  In this section, we would like to ask about how you found out about the Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (TAAC) and about the Adjustment Proposal (AP) that you received.
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1.  How did you learn of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program?
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2.  Did the TAAC initiate contact with your firm?
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3.  How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the TAAC's outreach activities?
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  Why were you satisfied or dissatisfied with the outreach process?
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4.  How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the following aspects of the TAAC's services?
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Very Satisfied
Generally Satisfied
As Satisfied as Dissatisfied
Generally Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
Don't Know
Not Applicable
No Response
a.  Timeliness of service
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b.  Guided my firm through the eligibility/certification requirements for the program
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c.  Expectation setting for the amount of funding my firm would receive
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d.  Assessment of my firm's situation
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e.  Mentoring
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f.  Feasibility of projects recommended by TAAC
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g.  Reasonableness of fees, if charged
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  If you were satisfied with any of the items in question 4, why?
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  If you were dissatisfied with any of the items in question 4, why?
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5.  Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the services you received from the TAAC?
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6.  How much did the Adjustment Proposal (AP) that you developed with the TAAC help your firm to identify...?
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Helped a Lot
Helped a Little
Didn't Help
Don't Know
Not Applicable
No Response
a.  import competition
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b.  domestic competition
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c.  management weaknesses
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d.  potential business process improvements
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e.  projects my firm could undertake to improve business
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f.  other items or issues (specify below)
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  What were the other items or issues?
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7.  After your Adjustment Proposal was approved, did you implement any of the projects recommended by the TAAC?
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Implementation Phase

  Next, we would like to ask some question about the actual projects that you received matching funds to complete.
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8.  Did you undertake the following types of projects with the TAAF funding that you received?
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Yes
No
Don't Know
Not Applicable
No Response
a.  financial (for example: accounting systems upgrade)
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b.  management (for example: strategic business planning)
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c.  marketing/Sales (for example: website design and upgrade)
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d.  production (for example: lean manufacturing and certification)
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e.  support systems (for example: management information systems upgrades)
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f.  other types of projects (specify below)
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  What were the other types of projects?
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9.  Based on your overall experiences with the consultants from the TAAF program, how satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the following aspects of their services?
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Very Satisfied
Generally Satisfied
As Satisfied as Dissatisfied
Generally Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
Don't Know
Not Applicable
No Response
a.  Expertise in their field
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b.  Ability to communicate their knowledge effectively
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c.  Understanding of your firm's particular needs
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d.  Timeliness (appointments, follow-up, completion)
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e.  Providing deliverables outlined in the project proposal
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f.  Usefulness of final recommendations
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  If you were satisfied with any of the items in question 9, why?
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  If you were dissatisfied with any of the items in question 9, why?
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10.  Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the consultant(s)?
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Outcomes

  Finally, we would like to ask you about the effect that the TAAF program had in helping your business.
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11.  How much did the TAAF program help to improve ?
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Helped a Lot
Helped a Little
Didn't Help
Don't Know
Not Applicable
No Response
a.  operational planning
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b.  strategic planning
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c.  cost management
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d.  management practices
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Helped a Lot
Helped a Little
Didn't Help
Don't Know
Not Applicable
No Response
e.  manufacturing processes
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f.  marketing/sales
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g.  export sales
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h.  profitability
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12.  How much did the TAAF program help your firm to ..?
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Helped a Lot
Helped a Little
Didn't Help
Don't Know
Not Applicable
No Response
a.  stay in business
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b.  develop new products
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c.  hire new employees
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d.  retain employees
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e.  other way (specify below)
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  What other way did the TAAF program help your firm?
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13.  Would you have implemented any of the projects without the assistance and matching funds your firm received from the TAAF program?
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14.  Have you received funding or other kinds of assistance from any other federal or state programs?
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15.  If yes, from which program(s) and in what year(s)?
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16.  If you have any other comments about the program's performance, improvements that could be made or any other information about the program you would like to share, please do so in the box below.
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  IMPORTANT: Please continue to the next screen to submit your final responses to GAO.
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Submit Your Final Responses to GAO

17.  Are you ready to submit your final completed survey to GAO?
(This is equivalent to mailing a completed paper survey to us. It tells us that your answers are official and final.)

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  You may view and print your completed survey by clicking on the Summary link in the menu to the left..

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U.S. Government Accountability Office

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