National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is offering the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Grant to Enhance State Relations and Improve US Manufacturing.

All organizations meeting eligibility requirements provided in the Federal Funding Opportunity (Full Announcement) are invited to submit proposals that address both of the key areas below:

1. Network building and expansion: The Recipient will collaborate with NIST MEP, MEP centers, and partners to facilitate the development of effective working relationships for MEP Federal and Center officials among a wide range of stakeholders. Stakeholders include state agency leaders, policy makers, practitioners involved in technology and workforce-based economic development planning and program implementation, and others as suggested by the Recipient. The Recipient, the MEP system, and NIST MEP will share information about the needs and agendas of state stakeholders, risks and opportunities, using their in-depth understanding of budget data, current trends, emerging issues. The Recipient will propose ideas that help to implement initiatives for encouraging a dialogue among interested parties, including states, MEP Centers, partner organizations, and industry, about how the MEP partner network and MEP next generation initiatives best fit into state strategies and priorities, and how manufacturers and the public benefit from manufacturing extension activities. The Recipient will work with entities in the MEP system to help prioritize states for attention, develop strategies to address opportunities and concerns, recommend effective communication strategies, and convene meetings of the MEP Centers, partners and stakeholders as needed to facilitate the partnership development. The Recipient will demonstrate the ability to provide nationwide access to state relations support services.

2. Research/knowledge development and sharing: The Recipient will collaborate with NIST MEP, MEP centers, and partners to compile and analyze information available about current state budgets, economic development and technology policy initiatives, program evaluation practices, and the nature of the partnership between states, MEP Centers, industry and NIST. To help the partners in the MEP system sustain and improve state relationships, the Recipient will collaborate with the MEP system to track state activities, share insights and available research, provide technical assistance to resolve problems that arise, and undertake related activities to facilitate the desired partnerships.

NIST does not prescribe any particular management or operational structure for this effort, but work proposed should be based upon approaches or structures used by collaborative providers of support services that have demonstrated success.