NIST MEP Competitive Awards Program

NIST MEP invites applications from current MEP Centers for projects that will add capabilities to the MEP Program by achieving one or more of the criteria set forth in 15 U.S.C. 278k-1(e)(3) and may give priority during the selection process to proposals that will also address one or more of the Program Themes described in Section I. of this NOFO: Industry/Manufacturing 4.0; manufacturing workforce services to include employee recruitment, retention, and employee development; supply chain management and resiliency; and Artificial Intelligence (AI) application. Projects funded pursuant to this NOFO must provide for activities or services beyond those provided for pursuant to an applicant’s and its partnering MEP Centers’ base MEP Center cooperative agreements. See Section I of this NOFO for the full program description.

Applicants for this program must be an active MEP Center that is operating pursuant to a current NIST MEP cooperative agreement. A MEP Center may work individually or may include proposed subawards to other organizations, including but not limited to other MEP Centers, to carry out the activities described in the proposal. An MEP Center may serve as the MEP Center applicant on only one (1) proposal. There are no restrictions on the number of applications in which MEP Centers may be proposed as subrecipients or as non-funded collaborators.