NIST Accepting Applications for 4 New Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers

The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced a new funding opportunity for four new Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers in Kentucky, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and South Dakota. The MEP program was founded in 1988 and has since provided manufacturing expertise and services to small and medium-sized manufacturers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. ASME has long been committed to continued investment in the MEP program.
 
While MEP Centers already exist in these four states, it is mandated that awards must be recompeted at least every 10 years based on availability of federal funds. The Centers in these states are approaching 10 consecutive years of operation and need to be recompeted. NIST plans to award $19.8 million to support the four new centers with the following amounts for each:

• Kentucky: $6,217,500
• Nebraska: $3,978,500
• Rhode Island: $6,021,500
• South Dakota: $3,561,000 

MEP Centers provide small and medium-sized manufacturers with the support needed to reduce costs, improve efficiency, create new products, and find new markets. The program is dedicated to bolstering American manufacturing, which has become increasingly important as investment in research and development from a manufacturing perspective has decreased significantly.
 
ASME’s position paper on “Strengthening the U.S. Manufacturing Sector” asserts the Society’s support for continued MEP funding, stating that the MEP is a reliable program that fosters partnerships between small-sized manufacturers to promote collaboration that enables U.S. manufacturers to develop products, expand their markets, and adopt new technologies that help to strengthen the innovation pipeline in the U.S.
 
Additionally, ASME supports continued, sustained investment in MEP programs that work to promote workforce development to help build a skilled domestic workforce. Boosting the American workforce will help prevent companies from producing new products overseas and speed up the time it takes for innovations to travel from concept through commercialization.
NIST will host an informational webinar on this funding opportunity on Monday, February 14. There is no registration required, and the webinar may be accessed directly via the BlueJeans videoconferencing platform. 
 
For more information on how to apply, visit: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2022/01/nist-announces-funding-opportunity-manufacturing-centers-kentucky-0.