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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO)

April 03, 2017

April 03, 2017 

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO)

Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Federal Agency Name: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 

United States Department of Commerce (DoC) 

• Funding Opportunity Title: Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes 

Pilot Projects – Round 3

• Announcement Type: Initial 

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2017-NIST-MEP-EMUSA-02 

• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.611, 

Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

• Dates: Electronic applications in response to this NOFO must be received no later 

than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, June 2, 2017. Applications received after 

the deadline will not be reviewed or considered. The approximate start date for 

awards under this NOFO is expected to be in August 2017.

Applicants should be aware, and factor into their application submission 

planning, that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine 

maintenance from 12:01 Eastern Time, Saturday, April 15, 2017 until Monday, 

April 17, 2017 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and again from 12:01 Eastern Time, 

Saturday, May 20, 2017 until Monday, May 22, 2017 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern 

Time. Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed.

Applicants are strongly urged to read Section IV.2.b., Attachment of Required 

Application Documents, found on page 17 of this NOFO. Applicants should 

carefully follow the instructions and recommendations regarding adding 

attachments to an application and using Grants.gov’s Download Submitted 

Applications feature to check that all required attachments were contained in 

their submission. Applications submitted without the required documents will 

not pass the Initial Administrative Review, described in Section V.2.a. of this 

NOFO, which may result in the application not being considered for funding. 
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO)

April 03, 2017

• Application Submission: Electronic applications must be submitted to

www.grants.gov. See Section IV.7.a. in the Full Announcement Text of this NOFO. 

• Funding Opportunity Description: NIST invites proposals from current MEP 

Centers to pilot test approaches to providing needed technology acceleration 

assistance to small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as 

small U.S. manufacturers) through the establishment of meaningful and results 

oriented collaborations between the nationwide system of Centers operating as part 

of the NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program 

(hereinafter referred to as NIST MEP), and the public-private manufacturing 

innovation Institutes operating as part of Manufacturing USA (previously known as 

the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), and hereinafter referred 

to as Manufacturing USA Institutes).

The emphasis of these pilot projects will be to demonstrate ways to more fully 

leverage the assets and resources of the national MEP Program to provide

assistance to small U.S. manufacturers in technology areas that are the focus of the 

Manufacturing USA Institutes. 

NIST MEP previously made funding awards to MEP Centers in FY 2016 and FY 

2017 to embed personnel in nine (9) of the fourteen (14) Manufacturing USA 

Institutes pursuant to Round One1 and Round Two2 of this pilot program. This 

NOFO is targeting the issuance of up to five (5) cooperative agreements to existing 

MEP Centers to embed personnel in the five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes 

identified below: 

o Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI)

o Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute

o National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals 

(NIIMBL)

o Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Institute

o Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute

Pilot projects awarded via this NOFO will focus on the cultivation of enduring 

collaborations among small U.S. manufacturers, Manufacturing USA Institutes, and 

MEP Centers for the benefit of all of these entities. The projects will accelerate the 

processes by which small U.S. manufacturers transition the latest and most 

compelling technological innovations into the manufactured goods needed by our 

 1https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/mep/MEP-Embedding-MEP-into-NNMI-InstitutesNOFO-4-19-16.pdf

2https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016/10/17/mep_embedding_mep_into_nnmi_institute

s_NOFO_final_10-17-16.pdf
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO)

April 03, 2017

Nation.

Applications submitted in response to this NOFO should clearly articulate 

approaches to MEP Center – Manufacturing USA Institute collaborations that are

based upon the embedding of personnel from MEP Centers within Manufacturing 

USA Institutes in accordance with the requirements of this NOFO. Such personnel 

embedding must involve the placement of MEP Center representatives from one or 

more MEP Centers within residence on at least a one (1) FTE cumulative basis and 

at least a 0.5 FTE basis for any single embedded Center employee at the primary

Manufacturing USA Institute for the entirety of the federal award period, which may 

not exceed two (2) years. All proposed pilot projects must involve the embedding of 

MEP Center personnel operating in residence (as defined in this NOFO in Section I. 

and Section IV.2.a.(6).(d). at one or more of the Manufacturing USA Institutes 

identified in Section I. and III.1. of this NOFO. In this connection, if an applicant 

proposes the embedding of MEP Center personnel in more than one Manufacturing 

USA Institute identified in Section I. and III.1. of this NOFO, the application must 

clearly designate the primary participating Manufacturing USA Institute and the 

applicant must meet the one (1) FTE minimum annual embedding requirement by 

embedding at least one (1) MEP Center personnel FTE at the designated primary 

participating Manufacturing USA Institute.

Specifically, the pilot projects proposed by applicants should: 

o Develop innovative approaches for transferring technology from the 

Manufacturing USA Institutes to small U.S. manufacturers based on the 

technological needs of manufacturers; 

o Create approaches for engaging small U.S. manufacturers in the work of the 

Manufacturing USA Institutes through hands-on assistance mechanisms and 

services, such as those that are currently, or that could be, offered by MEP 

Centers; 

o Develop and test business models by which MEP Centers and Manufacturing 

USA Institutes may viably and effectively serve the needs of small U.S. 

manufacturers in the technology areas of the Manufacturing USA Institutes, 

as well as facilitating knowledge and best practice sharing between the 

Manufacturing USA Institutes and MEP Centers; and 

o Cultivate an enhanced nationwide network of partnerships among 

Manufacturing USA Institutes and MEP Centers for the benefit of small U.S. 

manufacturers. 

Activities conducted as part of these MEP Center – Manufacturing USA pilot projects 

will be expected to take place in collaboration with local and regional stakeholders 

and other partners, including local, state, and/or regional advanced manufacturing 

and/or technology-based economic development organizations; industry and/or 
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO)

April 03, 2017

professional associations; technical and community colleges; universities; industryuniversity partnerships, small U.S. manufacturers, and other manufacturing 

organizations. See Section I. of this NOFO for a detailed description of this funding 

opportunity. 

• Anticipated Amounts: NIST anticipates funding up to five (5) pilot project awards 

at a level of approximately $300,000 - $600,000 per year for each award. The pilot 

projects awarded under this NOFO will have a budget and performance period of up 

to two (2) years. See Section II.2. of this NOFO for more information regarding the 

availability of NIST funding for this funding opportunity. 

• Funding Instrument: Cooperative Agreement. See Section II.1. of this NOFO for 

additional information concerning the funding instrument for these awards. 

• Who Is Eligible: Eligible applicants for this funding opportunity are MEP Centers 

receiving current cooperative agreement funding from NIST. To receive funding 

under this NOFO, an applicant MEP Center must form a collaboration, teaming 

arrangement, or other appropriate relationship with one (1) or more of the five (5) 

Manufacturing USA Institutes identified below. For purposes of this NOFO, the 

primary Manufacturing USA Institute is the one in which the MEP Center plans to 

embed at least one (1.0) MEP Center personnel FTE. The relationship must have 

been established at the time of application submission and must be documented 

with a letter(s) of commitment (see Section IV.2.a.(12). of this NOFO) from the 

Manufacturing USA Institute(s) with which the relationship has been established. 

These five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes identified below are not currently 

hosting embedded MEP Center representatives in residence at their Institute 

locations as the result of either the 2016-NIST-MEP-ENNMI-01 funding opportunity3, 

or the 2017-NIST-MEP-EMUSA-01 funding opportunity4. These five (5) 

Manufacturing USA Institutes are5: 

o Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI)

o Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute

o National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals 

(NIIMBL)

o Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Institute

o Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute

 3https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/mep/MEP-Embedding-MEP-into-NNMI-Institutes-FFO4-19-16.pdf 4https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016/10/17/mep_embedding_mep_into_nnmi_institute

s_ffo_final_10-17-16.pdf 5 https://www.manufacturingusa.com/institutes
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO)

April 03, 2017

NIST encourages project proposals involving participation from multiple MEP 

Centers and multiple Manufacturing USA Institutes, as well as other collaborating 

entities such as local economic development organizations, universities, community 

colleges, technology incubator programs, and other organizations. 

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 or 

Manufacturing USA Institutes can be proposed as collaborators, nor are there 

restrictions on MEP Centers receiving Round One or Round Two awards serving as 

applicants or collaborators on projects funded pursuant to this Round Three

competition. See Section III.1. of this NOFO for more information regarding funding 

opportunity eligibility. 

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Non-federal cost share is not required for awards 

issued pursuant to this NOFO. Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals with 

budgets that maximize the application of award funding to the performance of project 

tasking and other direct project costs. See Section III.2. of this NOFO for more 

information regarding cost sharing requirements. 

• Webinar Information Session: NIST MEP will hold one or more webinar 

information sessions for organizations that are considering applying for or 

participating as a team member in this funding opportunity. The webinar(s) will 

provide general information regarding MEP and this funding opportunity and offer 

general guidance on preparing proposals. NIST MEP staff will be available at the 

webinar to answer general questions. During the webinar(s), detailed proprietary or 

technical discussions about specific project ideas will not be permitted. Also, NIST 

MEP staff will not critique or provide feedback on any specific project ideas during 

the webinar(s) or at any time before submission of a proposal to MEP. However, 

NIST MEP staff will provide information about potential participants, eligibility, 

evaluation criteria and selection factors, the selection process, program priorities 

and objectives, and the general characteristics of a competitive proposal during this 

webinar. It is expected that the webinar(s) will be held approximately within thirty 

(30) business days after posting of this NOFO. The exact date and time of the 

webinar(s) will be posted on the NIST MEP website at 

www.nist.gov/mep/embedding-mep-manufacturing-usa-institutes-pilot-projectsround-three. The webinar(s) will be recorded, and a link to the recording(s) will be 

posted on the NIST MEP website. In addition, the webinar presentation(s) will be 

available after the webinar(s) on the NIST MEP website. Organizations wishing to 

participate in the webinar(s) must register in advance by contacting NIST MEP by email at mepnofo@nist.gov. Participation in the webinar(s) is not required in order for 

an organization to submit an application pursuant to this NOFO. 

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Questions from applicants pertaining to 
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO)

April 03, 2017

NOFO eligibility, cost-sharing requirements, evaluation criteria and selection factors, 

selection process, and the general characteristics of a competitive proposal will not 

be considered on an informal basis. Applicants must submit all such questions in 

writing to mepnofo@nist.gov. Answers to such written questions submitted to NIST 

MEP may be made available to the public as part of an FAQ document, which will be 

periodically updated on the MEP website at www.nist.gov/mep/embedding-mepmanufacturing-usa-institutes-pilot-projects-round-three.

Table of Contents

I. Program Description.............................................................................................. 6

II. Federal Award Information.................................................................................. 12

III. Eligibility Information........................................................................................... 15

IV. Application and Submission Information .......................................................... 16

V. Application/Proposal Review Information ......................................................... 32

VI. Federal Award Administration Information ....................................................... 40

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts................................................................. 42

VIII. Other Information ............................................................................................... 43

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Program Description

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites applications from 

current MEP Centers to support efforts of the MEP Program to achieve its mission of 

improving productivity and technological performance in United States manufacturing. 

Proposals accepted for funding will conduct pilot projects that add capabilities to the 

MEP program by solving new or emerging manufacturing problems. Funded pilot 

projects will develop and enhance effective collaborative relationships involving MEP 

Centers and Institutes participating in the Manufacturing USA, which was known until

September 2016 as the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). 

To receive funding under this NOFO, an applicant MEP Center must form a 

collaboration, teaming arrangement, or other appropriate relationship with one (1) or 

more of the five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes identified below. For purposes of this 
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO)

April 03, 2017

NOFO, the primary Manufacturing USA Institute is the one in which the MEP Center 

plans to embed at least one (1.0) MEP Center personnel FTE. The relationship must 

have been established at the time of application submission and must be documented 

with a letter(s) of commitment (see Section IV.2.a.(12). of this NOFO) from the 

Manufacturing USA Institute(s) with which the relationship has been established. These 

five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes are not currently hosting embedded MEP Center 

representatives in residence at their Institute locations as the result of either the 2016

NIST-MEP-ENNMI-01 funding opportunity6, or the 2017-NIST-MEP-EMUSA-01 funding

opportunity7. These five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes are8: 

• Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI)

• Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute

• National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals 

(NIIMBL)

• Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Institute

• Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute

In addition to assisting MEP efforts related to the transfer of technology based on the 

technological needs of manufacturers and available technologies from the 

Manufacturing USA Institutes, the proposed Pilot Projects will also enhance the 

Manufacturing USA Institutes’ ability to benefit the technological needs of small and 

mid-sized U.S. manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as small U.S. manufacturers). 

It is the intent of NIST MEP for this funding opportunity that project activities be true and 

significant collaborations between the participating MEP Centers, Manufacturing USA 

Institutes, and small U.S. manufacturers be established to benefit technology advances 

in manufacturing, as described below. 

Technology advances in manufacturing enable product and process innovations that 

lead to the more efficient production of sophisticated products and systems. Such 

manufacturing technology, in turn, enables the efficient operation of manufacturing 

supply chains. All of this results in higher value, without which U.S. manufacturers 

could not be globally competitive. NIST MEP, through this funding opportunity, seeks

project activities to achieve such results by leveraging the assets and resources of the 

national MEP Program to assist the Manufacturing USA Institutes with enhancing their 

impact on small U.S. manufacturers.

 6https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/mep/MEP-Embedding-MEP-into-NNMI-Institutes-FFO4-19-16.pdf 7https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016/10/17/mep_embedding_mep_into_nnmi_institute

s_ffo_final_10-17-16.pdf 8 https://www.manufacturingusa.com/institutes
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO)

April 03, 2017

The Manufacturing USA Institutes are working to create a competitive, effective, and 

sustainable advanced manufacturing research-to-manufacturing infrastructure. Their 

goal is to enable U.S. industry and academia to solve the "scale-up" challenges that are 

relevant to industry. The Manufacturing USA consists of multiple linked Manufacturing 

Innovation Institutes. Each has a unique technological concentration, but all are 

designed to accelerate U.S. advanced manufacturing as a whole. As nodes in 

Manufacturing USA, the Institutes complement each other’s capabilities and benefit 

from shared approaches to matters such as intellectual property, contract research, and 

performance metrics. Each provides shared facilities to local start-ups and small U.S. 

manufacturers to help them scale up new technologies, accelerate technology transfer 

to the marketplace, and facilitate the adoption of innovation workforce skills. Each

Manufacturing USA Institute is designed to foster innovation and deliver new 

capabilities that can stimulate the manufacturing sector on a large scale. 

Through its nationwide network of MEP Centers operating in every U.S. state and 

Puerto Rico, MEP facilitates and accelerates the transfer of manufacturing technology in 

partnership with industry, industry and professional associations, educational institutions 

including universities and community colleges, state government, and NIST and other 

federal and non-federal research laboratories and agencies. MEP Centers provide 

direct, hands-on assistance to thousands of small U.S. manufacturers each year. The 

acceleration of new and emerging technology into the hands of these small U.S. 

manufacturers is critical to the MEP mission of enhancing the productivity and 

technological performance of U.S. manufacturers. 

There are potentially powerful synergies that can be achieved for the benefit of small 

U.S. manufacturers through the broadening and deepening of Manufacturing USA 

Institute – MEP Center collaborations. As the basis for proposed collaborations 

involving MEP Centers and any of the Manufacturing USA Institutes, applications 

submitted in response to this NOFO should articulate approaches to build and establish 

collaborations between Manufacturing USA Institutes and MEP Centers that are based 

upon the embedding of MEP Center representatives within Manufacturing USA 

Institutes, and that build upon the collaboration framework as defined in the May 2015 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NIST and the U.S. Department of 

Defense (DOD).9 The goals of that MOU are to enhance collaboration between MEP 

Centers and DOD-led Manufacturing USA Institutes and to engage small U.S. 

manufacturers more fully to optimize benefits and results from the public and private 

investments in these Institutes. While this framework was specifically intended for 

 9 Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Secretary of 

Defense Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy and the 

U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension 

Partnership, May 2015: http://www.nist.gov/mep/about/upload/MOU-NIST-OSD-SignedExecuted2015.pdf
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

Round Three Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO)

April 03, 2017

application to DOD-funded Manufacturing USA Institutes, it also broadly applies to MEP 

involvement with all Manufacturing USA Institutes, regardless of the funding federal 

agency for a particular Manufacturing USA Institute. Heretofore, Manufacturing USA 

Institutes have been established with federal funding from the DOD, the U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE)and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). This 

framework provides the foundation upon which MEP Centers and Manufacturing USA 

Institutes should approach their collaborations in response to this NOFO. Specifically, 

the framework provides the basis to define how Institutes and MEP Centers can work 

together to facilitate engagement of small U.S. manufacturers to: 

• Increase small U.S. manufacturer awareness of Manufacturing USA Institute 

focus areas and resources; 

• Ensure the involvement of small U.S. manufacturers in the processes and 

activities associated with informing and developing the research agendas of 

the Manufacturing USA Institutes; 

• Increase small U.S. manufacturers’ participation in Manufacturing USA 

Institute research; and 

• Ensure the transition of Manufacturing USA Institute research results to small 

U.S. manufacturers for implementation. 

As part of these MEP Center – Manufacturing USA Institute pilot projects, 

Manufacturing USA – MEP Center collaborations will be created that leverage 

relationships with other entities and include the embedding of MEP Center 

representatives within Manufacturing USA Institutes. The pilot projects funded through 

this NOFO will leverage the assets and resources of the national MEP Program to 

assist the Manufacturing USA Institutes as they strive to broadly and deeply enhance 

their impact on small U.S. manufacturers. The pilot projects also will expand MEP’s 

ability to positively impact the competitiveness and growth of small U.S. manufacturers 

by developing expertise in the focus areas of the Manufacturing USA Institutes. 

Specifically, the pilot projects proposed by applicants should: 

• Transfer technology from the Manufacturing USA Institutes to small U.S. 

manufacturers based on the technological needs of manufacturers;

• Create approaches to engaging small U.S. manufacturers in the work of the 

Manufacturing USA Institutes through hands-on assistance mechanisms and 

services such as those that are currently, or that could be, offered by MEP 

Centers; 

• Develop and test business models by which MEP Centers and Manufacturing 

USA Institutes can viably and effectively serve the needs of small U.S. 

manufacturers in the technology areas of the Manufacturing USA Institutes; 

• Facilitate knowledge and best practice sharing between the Manufacturing 

USA Institutes and MEP Centers; and 
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

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April 03, 2017

• Cultivate an enhanced nationwide network of partnerships among 

Manufacturing USA Institutes and MEP Centers for the benefit of small U.S. 

manufacturers. 

Applicants are expected to propose pilot projects that involve different, creative, and 

new approaches to achieve the intended purpose and objectives of this NOFO – but all 

proposed pilot projects must involve the embedding of MEP Center personnel operating 

in residence (as defined in this NOFO in Section I. and Section IV.2.a.(6).(d). at 

one or more of the Manufacturing USA Institutes identified in Section I. and III.1. of this 

NOFO. Such personnel embedding must involve the placement of MEP Center 

representatives from one (1) or more MEP Centers within residence on at least a one 

(1) FTE cumulative basis and at least a 0.5 FTE basis for any single embedded Center 

employee at the primary Manufacturing USA Institute for the entirety of the federal 

award period, which may not exceed two years. In this connection, if an applicant 

proposes the embedding of MEP Center personnel in more than one Manufacturing 

USA Institute identified in Section I. and III.1. of this NOFO, the application must clearly 

designate the primary Manufacturing USA Institute and the applicant must meet the one

(1) FTE minimum annual embedding requirement by embedding at least one (1) MEP 

Center personnel FTE at the designated primary Manufacturing USA Institute. 

It is anticipated that embedded MEP Center personnel will become fully engaged 

experts in the technology focus areas for a particular Manufacturing USA Institute. This 

will enable the embedded MEP personnel to serve as a national MEP resource to 

facilitate meaningful and impactful MEP engagements with small U.S. manufacturers in 

these focus areas on a national scale. The pilot projects should create and test 

business models and service delivery mechanisms that allow small U.S. manufacturers 

to work with and benefit from the Manufacturing USA Institutes via connections and 

assistance provided to them through the nationwide network of MEP Centers. The 

awardees will document their approaches, successes, challenges, and other learnings. 

Examples of different approaches that may be proposed include, but are not limited to, 

the following: 

• Training and other workforce development efforts in Manufacturing USA 

Institute technology focus areas to be developed and deployed for small U.S. 

manufacturers and/or MEP Center practitioners; 

• Train-the-trainer programs in Manufacturing USA Institute technology focus 

areas to be developed and deployed for MEP Center practitioners; and 

• Technical assistance projects to be conducted involving partnerships among 

small U.S. manufacturers, Manufacturing USA Institutes, and MEP Centers. 

The examples provided above only represent a few possible approaches for conducting 

pilot projects. Applicants may propose other approaches, and applicants are 

encouraged to identify creative and new ways in which the relationships established 
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

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April 03, 2017

between the MEP Centers and Manufacturing USA Institutes through these pilot 

projects can achieve meaningful impact and significant benefit for small U.S. 

manufacturers on a broad, national scale. 

Applications submitted in response to this NOFO must be from a current MEP Center as 

the applicant, and must include the clear identification of the Manufacturing USA 

Institute partnership(s), including which Manufacturing USA Institute is designated as 

the primary Manufacturing USA Institute. The relationship must be established at the 

time of application as described in Section I. and Section III.1. of this NOFO. 

Partnership(s) must be documented with letter(s) of commitment from the identified 

Manufacturing USA Institute(s), as described in Section IV.2.a.(12). of this NOFO. 

Applicants are encouraged to forge working relationships with the Manufacturing USA 

Institutes operating in the region where they are located, as well as with other Institutes

in addition to one (1) or more of the five (5) listed in Section I. and Section III.1. of this 

NOFO and MEP Centers operating around the country and with other entities with 

which the Centers and Institutes regularly collaborate. These partnerships should be 

based upon and commensurate with the pilot project approach being proposed by the 

applicant. 

Proposed approaches must fund the embedding of MEP Center representatives in 

residence at the primary Manufacturing USA Institutes at a total level of effort and time 

commitment equal to or greater than one (1) full-time equivalent (FTE) each year. The 

one (1) FTE requirement may be met via the embedding of multiple MEP staff members 

in the primary Manufacturing USA Institute, but any single MEP Center personnel must 

be embedded at a level of effort of 0.5 FTE staff year or greater to be counted toward 

the overall annual one (1) FTE requirement. The 1.0 FTE requirement for embedded 

MEP Center personnel represents the minimum level of effort, and embedding MEP 

Center personnel at levels of effort and time commitment totaling more than one (1)

FTE each year are encouraged through the embedding of MEP Center personnel at the 

primary Manufacturing USA Institute and/or at other identified partnered Manufacturing 

USA Institutes, which may include those listed in this NOFO and any other 

Manufacturing USA Institute. A statement of embedded FTE(s) is required in the 

Technical Proposal as described in Section IV.2.a.(6).(d). of this NOFO. Appropriate 

relationships with the identified Manufacturing USA Institute(s) must be in place at the 

time of application and demonstrated with letters of commitment as described in Section 

IV.2.a.(12). of this NOFO. Again, importantly, if MEP representatives are embedded at 

multiple Manufacturing USA Institutes, MEP representatives must be embedded at the 

primary Manufacturing USA Institute at an annual level of at least one (1) FTE each 

year. 

It is required that the embedded MEP Center personnel must operate in residence at 

the participating Institutes. For purposes of this NOFO, MEP Center personnel being 

embedded in residence at a Manufacturing USA Institute means the MEP embedded
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

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April 03, 2017

personnel are physically based at the Institute commensurate with the commitment 

identified in the project narrative and budget, utilizing Institute office space and 

interacting with Institute staff and members. This must be clearly stated and evidenced 

in the proposal, and the applicant must include a statement that there will be at least 

one or the equivalent of one (1) FTE in residence at a specified Manufacturing USA 

institute(s) and provide salary information in their proposal that is consistent with this 

statement as full-time in the proposed budget. Being embedded in residence also 

means that the embedded personnel are wholly focused on the pilot project tasking 

included in the proposed approach during the time while they’re embedded at the 

Institute – versus being focused on customary MEP Center duties. 

Subject to the requirements set forth in this NOFO, applicants may also propose 

approaches that involve the participation of multiple Manufacturing USA Institutes

as well as multiple MEP Centers. Any application, however, must include participation 

from at least one (1) of the five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes identified in Sections I. 

and III.1. of this NOFO. 

The statutory authority for this program is 15 U.S.C. § 278k-1. This program is not a 

Federal research and development program. 

Further information regarding the MEP Program is provided in the information packet 

that may be obtained at www.grants.gov, with additional background information 

provided at www.nist.gov/mep. Refer to Section VII. of this NOFO, “Federal Awarding 

Agency Contacts,” “Grant Rules and Regulations”, if you seek the information at this link 

or for any link in this NOFO, and it is either no longer working or you need more 

information. 

 

II. Federal Award Information

1. Funding Instrument. The funding instrument that will be used for awards issued 

pursuant to this NOFO is a cooperative agreement. The nature of NIST’s 

“substantial involvement” will generally be considered to be constituted as 

collaboration between NIST MEP and the recipient organization. This includes NIST 

MEP collaborating with the Recipient on evaluating its progress and making changes 

to the statement of work. Additional forms of substantial involvement that may arise 

are described in Final Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidance 

Implementing the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act, 43 Fed. Reg. 

36860-65 (Aug. 18, 1978). Examples of NIST MEP involvement in cooperative 

agreements awarded pursuant to this NOFO may include activities such as, but not 

limited to: 

• Guidelines and assistance in developing scope of work; 
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Embedding MEP in Manufacturing USA Institutes Pilot Projects –

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April 03, 2017

• Approval of key personnel; 

• Assistance, where possible, in accessing solutions to technical and 

managerial issues; and 

• Assistance to the Recipient organization to define, understand, and resolve 

issues pertaining to the successful implementation of the pilot project. 

2. Funding Availability. NIST anticipates funding up to five (5) cooperative 

agreement awards, with up to two-year periods of performance, in accordance with 

the multi-year funding policy described in Section II.3. of this NOFO. It is expected 

that funding for these awards will be between $300,000 and $600,000 per year, with 

total federal funding for the two-year award period being between $600,000 and at 

no more than $1,200,000. NIST anticipates up to $6,000,000 in total federal funding 

being available for awards issued pursuant to this NOFO. 

3. Multi-Year Funding Policy. When an application for a multi-year award is 

approved, funding in some cases will be provided initially for the first year of the 

project. The Recipient will be required to submit detailed budgets and budget 

narratives prior to the award or release of any continued funding. Continued funding 

for the remaining year(s) of the project will be awarded or released by NIST on a 

non-competitive basis, and may be adjusted higher or lower from year-to-year of the 

award, contingent upon satisfactory performance, continued relevance to the 

mission and priorities of the program, and the availability of funds. Continuation of 

an award to extend the period of performance and/or to increase or decrease 

funding is at the sole discretion of NIST.

4. Award Kick-Off Meeting. Each Recipient will be required to attend a kick-off 

meeting, which will be held within the first 30 days of the start of the project period, 

to ensure that the Recipient has a clear understanding of the program and project 

components. The kick-off meeting will take place at a location determined by NIST 

MEP. 

The kick-off meeting will last no longer than one (1) day and must be attended by the 

project manager and appropriate key personnel who will play a significant role in 

managing and/or executing the award. The kick-off meeting for each award should 

involve appropriate personnel from the lead MEP Center recipient, the primary 

Manufacturing USA Institute, other participating Manufacturing USA Institute(s), 

other MEP Center(s) participating in the project, and may as necessary include 

personnel from other third party collaborating entities. 

Applicants must include travel and related costs for the kick-off meeting as part of 

the budget for year one (1), and these costs should be reflected in the SF-424A. 

(See Section IV.2.a.(2). of this NOFO.) These costs must also be reflected in the 

budget table and budget narrative for year 1, which is submitted as part of the 
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budget tables and budget narratives section of the Technical Proposal. (See 

Section IV.2.a.(6).(e). of this NOFO.) 

5. MEP National Network Meetings. NIST MEP typically organizes MEP National 

Network meetings up to four times per year to share best practices, and to discuss 

new and emerging trends, and additional topics of interest. These meetings are 

planned throughout the United States and typically involve 2-3 days of resource time 

and associated travel costs for each meeting. One (1) key representative from the 

lead MEP Center and one (1) representative from the primary Manufacturing USA 

Institute should attend these meetings. 

Applicants must include travel and related costs for at least one representative from 

the lead MEP Center and one from the primary Manufacturing USA Institute to 

participate in the scheduled MEP National Network meetings in each of one (1) or 

two (2) project years (up to 4 meetings per year; up to 8 total meetings over up to a 

two-year award period). These costs must be reflected in the SF-424A (see Section 

IV.2.a.(2). of this NOFO). These costs must also be reflected in the budget tables 

and budget narratives for each of the project’s years, which are submitted as part of 

the Technical Proposal. (See Section IV.2.a.(6).(e). of this NOFO). In the event that 

travel and related costs for the MEP Center representative are already accounted for 

under another MEP award, the applicant should note this in the budget narrative and 

should not include travel and related costs in the budget. 

Representatives of pilot projects will be expected to actively participate during MEP 

National Network meetings and freely share lessons learned regarding the 

mechanisms of the pilot approach, and attributes conducive to transferring 

knowledge from the Manufacturing USA Institutes to MEP Centers for the benefit of 

small U.S. manufacturers, as well as information about the Manufacturing USA 

Institutes’ technology focus areas. 

Recipients will be required to provide detailed analysis of the lessons learned 

through this pilot project at the MEP National Network meetings. These analyses 

will include, but are not limited to: attributes, participant roles, planning of the 

intended approach, root cause for successes/failures, bases for selecting individual 

MEP Center staff for embedding in Manufacturing USA Institutes, recommendations 

for how the outcomes of the Pilot Project might inform expansion of the intended 

goals, and any plans for sustainment of the effort beyond the period of performance. 

6. Indirect (F&A) Costs. NIST will reimburse applicants for proposed indirect (F&A) 

costs in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.414. Applicants proposing indirect (F&A) 

costs must follow the application requirements set forth in Section IV.2.a.(7). of this 

NOFO. 
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III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants. Eligible applicants for this program are MEP Centers receiving 

current cooperative agreement funding from NIST. An applicant MEP Center must 

form a collaboration, teaming arrangement, or other appropriate relationship with 

one (1) or more of the five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes identified below. The 

relationship must have been established with the primary Manufacturing USA 

Institute as required in Section IV.2.a.(12). of this NOFO at the time of application 

submission and must be documented with a letter(s) of commitment from the 

Manufacturing USA Institute(s) with which the relationship has been established.

These five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes are not currently hosting embedded 

MEP Center representatives in residence at their Institute locations as the result of 

either the 2016-NIST-MEP-ENNMI-01 funding opportunity10, or the 2017-NIST-MEPEMUSA-01 funding opportunity11. These five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes 

are12: 

o Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI)

o Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute

o National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals 

(NIIMBL)

o Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Institute

o Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute

NIST encourages project proposals involving participation from multiple MEP

Centers and multiple Manufacturing USA Institutes, as well as other collaborating 

entities such as local economic development organizations, universities, community 

colleges, technology incubator programs, and other organizations. 

Applications submitted in response to this NOFO are required to clearly identify the 

lead MEP Center applicant, as well as the participating Manufacturing USA Institute 

(s), other MEP Centers, and other key organizations participating in the proposed 

project, including the specific teaming arrangements for each participating 

organization. All proposed pilot projects must involve the embedding of MEP Center 

personnel operating in residence (as defined in this NOFO in Section I. and Section 

IV.2.a.(6).(d). at one or more of the Manufacturing USA Institutes identified in 

Section I. and III.1. of this NOFO. Such personnel embedding must involve the 

placement of MEP Center representatives from one (1) or more MEP Centers within 

 10https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/mep/MEP-Embedding-MEP-into-NNMI-Institutes-FFO4-19-16.pdf 11https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016/10/17/mep_embedding_mep_into_nnmi_institut

es_ffo_final_10-17-16.pdf 12 https://www.manufacturingusa.com/institutes
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residence on at least a one (1) FTE cumulative basis and at least a 0.5 FTE basis 

for any single embedded Center employee at a primary Manufacturing USA Institute 

for the entirety of the federal award period, which may not exceed two (2) years. In 

this connection, if an applicant proposes the embedding of MEP Center personnel in 

more than one Manufacturing USA Institute identified in Section I. and III.1. of this 

NOFO, the application must clearly designate the primary Manufacturing USA 

Institute and the applicant must meet the one (1) FTE minimum annual embedding 

requirement by embedding at least one (1) MEP Center personnel FTE at the 

designated primary Manufacturing USA Institute.

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 or 

Manufacturing USA Institutes can be proposed as collaborators, nor are there 

restrictions on MEP Centers receiving Round One or Round Two awards serving as 

applicants or collaborators on projects funded pursuant to this Round Three 

competition.

Eligibility for this program is contingent upon an applicant being a NIST MEP Center 

at the time of application, at the time of award, and for the entire period of 

performance for awards issued pursuant to this NOFO. NIST reserves the right to 

take appropriate action, which may include not making an award, or terminating an 

award or a portion thereof, should an MEP Center fail to maintain its eligibility at all 

required times. NIST further reserves the right to take appropriate action, including 

terminating an award or a portion thereof, if a Manufacturing USA Institute does not 

maintain its designation as such at any time during the period of performance for 

awards issued pursuant to this NOFO. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement. Non-federal cost share is not required 

for awards issued pursuant to this NOFO. Applicants are encouraged to submit 

proposals with budgets that maximize the application of award funding to the 

performance of project tasking and direct project costs.

3. No Double Charging Against other NIST/MEP or Institute Awards. Costs 

charged against awards issued pursuant to this NOFO may not also be charged as 

costs against any other NIST/MEP or Manufacturing USA Institute award (i.e., no 

double-billing of costs). In addition, NIST/MEP funding provided by an MEP Center 

to a Manufacturing USA Institute or to another MEP Center may not be used by such 

Manufacturing USA Institute or MEP Center as a non-federal cost share contribution 

for a Manufacturing USA Institute or MEP Center award (i.e., federal funds may not 

be used as cost share for other federal awards). 

IV. Application and Submission Information
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1. Address to Request Application Package. The standard application package, 

consisting of the standard forms, i.e., SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B, SF-LLL, and the 

CD-511, is available at www.grants.gov. Applicants may also request an 

application package by contacting the point of contact for administrative, budget, 

cost-sharing, eligibility questions and other programmatic questions listed in Section 

VII. of this NOFO. 

2. Content and Form of Application/Submission. Set forth below are the required 

content and form of applications submitted pursuant to this NOFO. 

a. Required Forms and Documents

(1) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. The SF-424 must be certified 

through www.grants.gov by an authorized representative of the applicant 

organization. 

SF-424, Item 12, should list the NOFO number as 2017-NIST-MEP-EMUSA02. 

SF-424, Item 18, should list the total budget information for the full duration of 

the project. 

The list of certifications and assurances referenced in Item 21 of the SF-424 

is contained in the SF-424B. 

(2) SF-424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs. The budget 

should reflect anticipated expenses for each year of the project, considering 

all potential cost increases, including cost of living adjustments. The budget

should also include staff, travel and other costs associated with the Award 

Kick-off Meeting and the NIST/MEP National Network meetings for the MEP 

Center and the primary Manufacturing USA Institute as described in Sections 

II.4. and II.5., respectively, of this NOFO.

The applicant should reflect each year of the project, up to two (2) years, on 

the SF-424A form. Please carefully follow the directions found at 

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424a-instructions.html

when filling out this form. 

These sections of the SF-424A should reflect funds for the first year of the 

award: Section A; Section B; Section C; and Section D. The budget estimate 

for the second year of the award should be entered in Section E, field 16, 

column (b). 
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The Grant Program Function or Activity on Line 1 under Column (a) should be 

entered as Manufacturing Extension Partnership. The Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance Number on Line 1 under Column (b) should be entered 

as 11.611. 

(3) SF-424B, Assurances - Non-Construction Programs.

(4) CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying. For the Award Number, enter 

“2017-NIST-MEP-EMUSA-02”. In the Project Name field, use the Descriptive 

Title of Applicant’s Project from field 15 of the SF-424, or an abbreviation 

thereof. 

(5) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities. (if applicable) 

(6) Technical Proposal. The Technical Proposal, with a period of performance 

of up to two (2) years, is a word- processed document not exceeding 25 

pages that is responsive to the program description (see Section I. of this 

NOFO) and the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this NOFO). The 

following is a suggested format that applicants may use for the technical 

proposal. 

(a) Table of Contents. (Does not count toward the page limit).

(b) Executive Summary. The executive summary should briefly (usually no 

longer than two pages) describe the proposed project, consistent with the 

evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this NOFO). 

Please note, if an applicant’s proposal is selected for funding, NIST may 

use all or a portion of the Executive Summary as part of a press release 

issued by NIST, or for other public information and outreach purposes. 

Applicants are advised not to incorporate information that concerns 

business trade secrets or other confidential commercial or financial 

information as part of the Executive Summary. See also 15 C.F.R. § 

4.9(c) concerning the designation of business information by the applicant. 

(Does not count towards page limit). 

(c) Project Narrative. This section should provide a description of the 

proposed approach, sufficient to permit evaluation of the proposal, in 

accordance with details included in the proposal Evaluation Criteria (see 

Section V.1. of this NOFO). 
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The project narrative must identify the one (1) primary Manufacturing USA 

Institute identified in Section I. and III.1. of this NOFO with which the

applicant has established a collaborative partnership. For purposes of this 

NOFO, the primary institute is the one in which the MEP Center plans to 

embed personnel at a level of at least one (1) FTE. While the MEP Center 

may have personnel embedded at more than one (1) Manufacturing USA 

Institute, the MEP Center must have at least one (1) FTE at the primary 

Manufacturing USA Institute. All proposed pilot projects must involve the 

embedding of MEP Center personnel operating in residence (as defined in 

this NOFO in Section I. and Section IV.2.a.(6).(d). at one (1) or more of 

the Manufacturing USA Institutes identified in Section I. and III.1. of this 

NOFO. Such personnel embedding must involve the placement of MEP 

Center representatives from one or more MEP Centers within residence 

on at least a one (1) FTE cumulative basis and at least a 0.5 FTE basis for 

any single embedded Center employee at the primary Manufacturing USA 

Institute for the entirety of the federal award period, which may not exceed 

two (2) years. In this connection, if an applicant proposes the embedding 

of MEP Center personnel in more than one (1) Manufacturing USA 

Institute identified in Section I. and III.1. of this NOFO, the application 

must clearly designate the primary Manufacturing USA Institute and the 

applicant must meet the one (1) FTE minimum annual embedding 

requirement by embedding at least one (1) MEP Center personnel FTE at

the designated primary Manufacturing USA Institute.

The applicant is required to provide a statement of embedded FTE(s)

as described in Section IV.2.a.(6).(d). below as part of the Technical 

Proposal and required to include a letter of commitment from the 

primary Manufacturing USA Institute and any other partnering 

Manufacturing USA Institutes as described in Section IV.2.a.(12). 

below. 

The project narrative must identify tasks, measureable milestones, and 

outcomes resulting from the proposed approach, including the role of the 

embedding of MEP Center personnel in the participating Manufacturing 

USA Institutes, for each year of the proposed period of performance (Year 

1 and Year 2). If an applicant proposes the embedding of MEP Center 

personnel in more than one Manufacturing USA Institute, the application 

must clearly designate one (1) of the five (5) Manufacturing USA institutes 

identified in Section I. and Section III.1. of this NOFO as the primary 

Manufacturing USA Institute and the applicant must meet the one (1) FTE 

minimum annual embedding requirement by embedding at least one (1) 

MEP Center personnel FTE at the designated primary participating 

Manufacturing USA Institute.
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The project narrative should clearly identify the applicant’s approach to

developing, testing, and providing assistance for small U.S. manufacturers 

in the technology focus area(s) of the participating Manufacturing USA 

Institute(s). The project narrative should clearly indicate the service 

delivery mechanism(s) and business model(s) being developed and tested 

relating to MEP Centers and Manufacturing USA Institutes working 

together, and relating to MEP Centers and Manufacturing USA Institutes 

working with small U.S. manufacturers to provide small U.S. 

manufacturers the assistance they need. The applicant also should 

clearly explain how the proposed approach will accomplish one or more of 

the following: 

i. Increase small U.S. manufacturer awareness of Manufacturing 

USA Institute focus areas and resources;

ii. Ensure the involvement of small U.S. manufacturers in the 

processes and activities associated with informing and developing 

the research agendas of the Manufacturing USA Institutes;

iii. Increase small U.S. manufacturers’ participation in the conduct of 

Manufacturing USA Institute research; and

iv. Ensure the transition of Manufacturing USA Institute research 

results to small U.S. manufacturers for implementation.

The applicant should provide information that clearly indicates how the 

proposed MEP Center – Manufacturing USA Institute collaboration(s) and 

embedded personnel will result in increased impacts for small U.S. 

manufacturers, as well as the rationale for the selection and level of 

involvement of the particular Manufacturing USA Institute(s) and MEP 

Center(s) engaged in the proposal. 

The business model descriptions proposed should clearly identify the 

revenue bases of the collaborations and service delivery models, including 

organizational contributions and how MEP Centers and Manufacturing 

USA Institutes will be able to collaborate on a sustainable basis, including 

beyond the period of performance of this program’s funding awards. The 

business models should also clearly articulate the effects of the costs to 

small U.S. manufacturers for receiving services and the anticipated

reimbursements from the small U.S. manufacturers for receiving the 

services. 

Applicants should clearly identify and fully explain the elements of their 

collaborations intended to reach a broad base of small U.S. 

manufacturers, including, for example, outreach and assistance activities 
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for very small, start-up, and rural manufacturers in areas such as 

technology acceleration and workforce training. 

The project narrative should clearly indicate how the proposed approach 

adds capabilities to the MEP Program, and the narrative should detail how 

the approach solves new or emerging manufacturing problems of small 

U.S. manufacturers relating to areas such as, but not limited to: 

• the transfer of technology from the participating Manufacturing USA 

Institute(s) to small U.S. manufacturers for manufactured products 

and manufacturing processes;

• supply chain integration; and 

• quality management. 

Applicants are encouraged to propose collaborations between 

Manufacturing USA Institutes and the MEP Center(s) serving the 

manufacturers in the region where the Manufacturing USA Institutes are 

located to facilitate regional network building, as well as partnerships 

between Manufacturing USA Institutes and other MEP Centers located 

around the nation to facilitate national network building. 

Applicants should clearly articulate: 

• The nature of the network structure that’s being developed or 

enhanced; 

• Who the participants are; 

• The roles, responsibilities and relationships to each other of all 

participating Manufacturing USA Institutes and MEP Centers (to 

include the lead MEP Center) and any other participating 

organizations; and 

• The geographic scale of the proposed network activities, such as 

state, regional, or national scope. 

Applicants should also provide details about approaches for sharing 

lessons learned and best practices resulting from the conduct of the 

project. This should include plans for sharing with the national network of 

MEP Centers, the national network of Manufacturing USA Institutes, and 

other organizations and entities involved with U.S. manufacturing, 

including but not limited to NIST, the other federal agencies providing 

funding for the Manufacturing USA Institutes, U.S. manufacturers, 

manufacturing trade associations, economic development organizations, 

and others. 

 
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It is anticipated that embedded personnel operating in residence at the 

Manufacturing USA Institutes will become national resources for the 

Manufacturing USA Institute and MEP Center Networks, and the plan by 

which this will occur should be clearly articulated in the proposal. 

Applicants should clearly indicate how the embedding of MEP Center 

personnel in residence at the Manufacturing USA Institute(s) will 

contribute to the proposed network building activities. 

The applicant should clearly articulate how the proposed approach will 

enhance the impact of the efforts of the participating MEP Center(s) and 

Manufacturing USA Institute(s) for the benefit of small U.S. manufacturers 

in terms of measures such as, but not limited to job creation, employee 

training, technology transfer and commercialization, and improved 

manufacturer and supply chain competitiveness. 

The specific embedding of personnel that will occur between the MEP 

Center(s) and Manufacturing USA Institute(s) should be fully set forth in 

the Project Narrative section. Appropriate relationships with the identified 

Manufacturing USA Institute(s) must be in place at the time of application 

and demonstrated with letters of commitment included in the application 

package. The applicant is required to provide a statement of 

embedded FTE(s) as described in Section IV.2.a.(6).(d). below as part 

of the Technical Proposal and required to include a letter of 

commitment from the primary Manufacturing USA Institute and all 

other participating Manufacturing USA Institutes as described in 

Section IV.2.a.(12). below. 

Applicants should provide details about the ability of the key personnel 

and the applicant’s proposed management structure, as described in 

Section V.1.d., to successfully conduct the project being proposed. 

Applicants should clearly articulate how proposed organizational 

structures and participating personnel from the MEP Center(s) and 

Manufacturing USA Institute(s) will be in position and ready to begin 

project operations upon receipt of funding award. 

(d) Statement of Embedded FTE(s). It is required that the embedded MEP 

Center personnel must operate in residence at the participating primary 

Manufacturing USA Institute. For purposes of this NOFO, MEP Center 

personnel being embedded in residence at a Manufacturing USA Institute 

means the MEP embedded personnel are physically based at the 

Manufacturing USA Institute commensurate with the commitment 

identified in the project narrative and budget, utilizing Institute office space 

and interacting with Institute staff and members. This must be clearly 
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stated and evidenced in the proposal, and the applicant must include 

a statement that there will be at least one or the equivalent of one (1)

FTE in residence at the designated primary Manufacturing USA 

Institute and provide salary information in their proposal that is 

consistent with this statement in the proposed budget. Being 

embedded in residence also means that the embedded personnel are 

wholly focused on project tasking included in the proposed approach 

during the time while they’re embedded at the Institute – versus being 

focused on customary MEP Center duties. 

Applicants may also propose approaches that involve the participation of 

multiple Manufacturing USA Institutes, as well as multiple MEP Centers. 

Any proposal, however, must include participation from at least one (1) of 

the five (5) Manufacturing USA Institutes identified in this NOFO. 

The proposals must articulate the details of the administrative, financial, 

and other business parameters associated with the embedding of 

personnel from the participating MEP Centers in the participating 

Manufacturing USA Institutes. 

(e) Budget Tables and Budget Narratives. In addition to the SF-424A form 

(see Section IV.2.a.(2). of this NOFO), applicants must provide a detailed 

budget table and budget narrative for the proposed period of performance, 

fully explaining and justifying all proposed project funding (both revenue 

and expenses) in accordance with applicable federal cost principles. The 

budget information submitted by an applicant will be evaluated in 

accordance with the Budget evaluation sub-criteria (see Section V.1.e.(i). 

and Section V.1.e.(ii). of this NOFO). 

In the budget narrative, the Recipient should provide adequate information 

to support the costs identified in each category of the budget table. At a 

minimum, applicants must provide: the annual salary and the percentage 

of time dedicated to the project by personnel to demonstrate the total cost 

of that individual; the airfare, lodging, per diem, number of days and 

number of travelers for each proposed trip; and anticipated 

subaward/contract amounts and the related subawardees/contractors, to 

the extent known at the time of application, and a detailed description of 

the purpose of each subaward/contract. Applicants must also include for 

the applicant MEP Center and the primary Manufacturing USA Institute 

staff, travel and related expenses for travel to and participation in the 

required Award Kick-Off and National Network meetings described in 

Sections II.4. and II.5. of this NOFO in the budget tables and budget 

narratives. In the event that travel and related costs for the MEP Center 
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representative are already accounted for under another MEP award, the 

applicant should note this in the budget narrative and should not include 

travel and related costs in the budget. A suggested budget table and 

budget narrative template are available on the MEP website, 

www.nist.gov/mep/embedding-mep-manufacturing-usa-institutes-pilotprojects-round-three.

When preparing project budgets, applicants must be cognizant of the 

prohibition on double-billing costs against multiple federal awards and on 

the prohibition on using federal funding as non-federal cost share on any 

other federal award. See Section III.3. of this NOFO. 

(7) Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. If indirect costs are included in the proposed 

budget, provide a copy of the approved negotiated agreement if this rate was 

negotiated with a cognizant Federal audit agency. If the rate was not 

established by a cognizant Federal audit agency, provide a statement to this 

effect. If the successful applicant includes indirect costs in the budget and 

has not established an indirect cost rate with a cognizant Federal audit 

agency, the applicant will be required to obtain such a rate in accordance with 

the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions available at: http://go.usa.gov/hKbj. This does not count toward 

the page limit.

Alternatively, in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f), applicants that have 

never received a negotiated indirect cost rate may elect to charge indirect 

costs to an MEP award pursuant to a de minimis rate of 10 percent of 

modified total direct costs (MTDC), in which case a negotiated indirect cost 

rate agreement is not required. Applicants proposing a 10 percent de minimis 

rate pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f) should note this election as part of the 

budget portion of the application. 

(8) Table of Abbreviations and Acronyms. (This does not contribute to the 

total number of pages.) An alphabetical list of all abbreviations and 

acronyms, and their meaning, should be included. 

(9) Table of Funded Project Participants and Unfunded Collaborators. (This 

does not contribute to the total number of pages.) Provide a table that 

identifies all organizations that will participate in and contribute to the project, 

if funded, known at the time of the application submission. The table should 

consist of an alphabetically ordered list, by organization, of all Funded Project 

Participants and all Unfunded Collaborators. The table should include the 

organization’s name, address, administrative role, scope of work (funded 

participants only) and proposed funding amount (funded participants only). 
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Administrative roles are: applicant, subrecipient, or contractor for funded 

participants; and third party contributor or collaborator if they will not receive 

funding. 

(10) Bibliographic List of References. (This does not contribute to the total 

number of pages.) A complete bibliographic listing of all references used 

within the application should be included. 

(11) Resumes of Key Personnel. (These do not contribute to the total number of 

pages). One-page resumes of no more than five key personnel from each 

participant organization may be included; these do not count toward the page 

limit. Key personnel resumes should include resumes for any personnel from 

MEP Centers who will be embedded at the Manufacturing USA Institutes. Any 

information beyond one page for each resume and any additional resumes 

submitted will not be considered. 

(12) Required Letters of Commitment. (These do not contribute to the total 

number of pages). Letters that commit specific resources (not funding) to the 

project in the event that the application is funded are required from all of the 

following that apply: 

a) Each application must include a Letter of Commitment from an 

authorized representative of: (i) the MEP Center applicant; (ii) each 

Manufacturing USA Institute that will be participating in the project; and 

from (iii) other MEP Centers that will be participating in the project. 

Each letter should describe the submitting organization’s commitment 

to and activities in support of the proposed project.

b) If the application includes subawards, contracts or other payments to 

known third parties, including Manufacturing USA Institutes and other 

MEP Centers, a draft copy of each subaward, contract or other funding 

vehicle must be included. The reviewers will consider the scope of 

each agreement and its relevance to the proposed project, but will not 

review the agreement for legal sufficiency or for the allowability of the 

proposed budget. 

c) Letters of Commitment should not be letters submitted by nonproposing entities wishing to vouch for the applicant’s (or entities 

associated with the applicant) knowledge, skills, and abilities or entities 

to conduct the proposed work. These should be in the form of a Letter 

of Interest (see Section IV.3.a.(13). of this NOFO). 

(13) Letters of Interest. (These do not contribute to the total number of pages.) 
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Optional letters may be included with an application that indicate willingness 

from any third party to help accelerate establishment of a new or 

strengthening of an existing industry-driven technology consortium and/or 

consortium project results. This may include letters from unfunded 

collaborators who will participate as unfunded team members, potential 

organizations involved across stages of the value chain, or strategic partners 

who can aid in any element of the plan to realize impact. Letters of Interest 

should outline the nature and importance of the collaboration or involvement 

being offered. Letters of Interest may also be from non-proposing entities 

wishing to vouch for the applicant’s knowledge, skills, and abilities or entities 

to conduct the proposed work. All letters of interest must be included with the 

application and not sent separately to NIST.

(14) Data Management Plan. Consistent with the NIST Policy 5700.00,13

Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, and NIST 

Order 5701.00,14 Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded 

Research, applicants should include a Data Management Plan (DMP). 

The DMP is a supplementary document of not more than two pages that must 

include, at a minimum, a summary of proposed activities that are expected to 

generate data, a summary of the types of data expected to be generated by 

the identified activities, a plan for storage and maintenance of the data 

expected to be generated by the identified activities, and a plan describing 

whether and how data generated by the identified activities will be reviewed 

and made available to the public. As long as the DMP meets these NIST 

requirements, it may take the form specified by the applicant’s institution or 

some other entity (e.g., the National Science Foundation15 or the National 

Institutes of Health16). 

All applications for activities that will generate scientific data using NIST 

funding are required to adhere to a DMP or explain why data sharing and 

preservation are not within the scope of the project. 

For the purposes of the DMP, NIST adopted the definition of “research data” 

at 2 C.F.R. § 200.315(e)(3) (available at http://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ). 

Reasonable costs for data preservation and access may be included in the 

application.

 13https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/data/Final-P-5700.pdf

14https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/data/Final-O-5701_0.pdf 

15 http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp

16 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm
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The inclusion of the DMP will be considered as part of the administrative 

review (see Section V.2.a. of this NOFO); however, the DMP will not be 

evaluated against any evaluation criteria. 

b. Attachment of Required Application Documents

When submitting the application electronically via Grants.gov, items IV.2.a.(1). 

through IV.2.a.(5). above are part of the standard application package in Grants.gov 

and can be completed through the download application process. 

Items IV.2.a.(6). through IV.2.a.(14). must be completed and attached by 

clicking on “Add Attachments” found in item 15 of the SF-424, Application for 

Federal Assistance. This will create a zip file that allows for transmittal of the 

documents electronically via Grants.gov. 

Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions at www.grants.gov

to ensure the attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt 

from Grants.gov does not provide details concerning whether all attachments 

(or how many attachments) transferred successfully. Applicants using 

Grants.gov will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two 

business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has 

received its application. 

Applicants are urged to use Grants.gov’s Download Submitted Applications 

feature to check that all required attachments were contained in their 

submission. Go to the Grants.gov Online Users Guide available at the 

Grants.gov site (http://go.usa.gov/cjaEh), choose Applicants, then Applicant 

Actions, then select the “Check My Application Status” option, click on the 

Download Submitted Applications feature, and follow the directions. 

Applicants can track their submission in the Grants.gov system by following 

the procedures at the Grants.gov site (http://go.usa.gov/cjamz). It can take up 

to two business days for an application to fully move through the Grants.gov 

system to NIST. 

NIST uses the Tracking Numbers assigned by Grants.gov, and does not issue 

Agency Tracking Numbers. 

c. Application Format

(1) E-mail submissions. Will not be accepted 

(2) Facsimile submissions (fax). Will not be accepted. 
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(3) Figures, graphs, images, and pictures. Should be of a size that is easily 

readable or viewable and may be landscape orientation. 

(4) Font. Easy to read font (11-point minimum). Smaller type may be used in 

figures and tables but must be clearly legible. 

(5) Line spacing. Single. 

(6) Margins. One (1) inch top, bottom, left, and right. 

(7) Paper copies. Will not be accepted. All submissions must be made via 

www.grants.gov.

(8) Page layout. Portrait orientation only (except figures, graphs, and pictures 

(see Section IV.2.c.(3)). 

(9) Page Limit. Twenty-five (25) pages. 

a) Page limit includes: Cover page, Technical Proposal (with the 

exception of the Executive Summary), figures, graphs, tables, images, 

pictures, and all other pages of an application, with the exception of the 

page limit exclusions listed below. 

b) Page limit excludes: Table of Contents, Executive Summary, SF424, Application for Federal Assistance; the SF-424A, Budget 

Information – Non-Construction Programs form; SF-424B, Assurances

- Non-Construction Programs; SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying 

Activities; CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying; Budget Tables 

and Budget Narratives; Indirect Cost Rate Agreement; Table of 

Abbreviations and Acronyms; Table of Funded Project Participants and 

Unfunded Informal Collaborators; Bibliographic List of References 

Resumes of Key Personnel; Required Letters of Commitment; Letters 

of Interest; and the Data Management Plan. 

(10) Page numbering. Number pages sequentially. 

(11) Paper size. 21.6 centimeters by 27.9 centimeters (8 1⁄2 inches by 11 inches). 

(12) Application language. English. 

(13) Typed document. All applications, including forms, must be typed. 
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d. Application Replacement Pages. Applicants may not submit replacement pages 

and/or missing documents after an application has been submitted. Any revisions 

must be made by submission of a new application that must be received by NIST by 

the submission deadline. 

e. Pre-Applications. NIST is not accepting pre-applications or white papers under this 

NOFO. 

f. Certifications Regarding Federal Felony and Federal Criminal Tax Convictions, 

Unpaid Federal Tax Assessments and Delinquent Federal Tax Returns. In 

accordance with Federal appropriations law, an authorized representative of the 

selected applicant(s) may be required to provide certain pre-award certifications 

regarding federal felony and federal criminal tax convictions, unpaid federal tax 

assessments, and delinquent federal tax returns. 

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM). Pursuant 

to 2 C.F.R. part 25, applicants and recipients (as the case may be) are required to:

(i) be registered in SAM before submitting their applications; (ii) provide a valid 

unique entity identifier in their applications; and (iii) continue to maintain an active 

SAM registration with current information at all times during which they have an 

active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal 

awarding agency, unless otherwise excepted from these requirements pursuant to 2 

C.F.R. § 25.110. NIST will not make a Federal award to an applicant until the 

applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM 

requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the 

time that NIST is ready to make a Federal award pursuant to this NOFO, NIST may 

determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that 

determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant. 

4. Submission Dates and Times. Applicants must submit applications electronically 

through www.grants.gov. Electronic applications must be received no later than 

11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, June 2, 2017. The approximate start date for 

the award made under this NOFO is expected to be in August 2017.

When developing your submission timeline, please keep in mind that (1) all 

applicants are required to have a current registration in the System for Award 

Management (SAM.gov); (2) the free annual registration process in the electronic 

System for Award Management (SAM.gov) (see Section IV.3. and Section IV.7.a.(2).

of this NOFO) may take between three and five business days or as long as more 

than two weeks; and (3) electronic applicants are required to have a current 

registration in Grants.gov; and (4) applicants using Grants.gov will receive a series 

of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning 

whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application. Please 
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note that a federal assistance award cannot be issued if the designated 

recipient’s registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is not 

current at the time of the award.

Applicants will find instructions on registering with SAM.gov as part of the 

Grants.gov process at: 

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html.

The date and time recorded by www.grants.gov will be considered the official time 

that the application was received by NIST. Applicants are cautioned that the 

validation process may take up to two full business days after the application is 

submitted to Grants.gov. 

NIST strongly recommends that applicants do not wait until the last minute to submit 

an application. NIST will not make allowance for any late submissions. The 

responsibility for ensuring a complete application is received by NIST by the 

deadline is the sole responsibility of the applicant. To avoid any potential processing 

backlogs due to last minute Grants.gov registrations, applicants are strongly 

encouraged to start their Grants.gov registration process at least four (4) weeks prior 

to the application due date. 

NIST will not accept applications submitted by mail, facsimile, or by e-mail. 

5. Intergovernmental Review. Applications under this Program are not subject to 

Executive Order 12372. 

6. Funding Restrictions. Construction activities are not an allowable cost under this 

program. In addition, a recipient or a subrecipient may not charge profits, fees or 

other increments above cost to an award issued pursuant to this NOFO. Pre-award 

costs under this NOFO are subject to the prior written approval of the NIST Grants 

Officer. 

7. Other Submission Requirements

a. Applications must be submitted electronically. Applications must be 

submitted via Grants.gov at www.grants.gov under announcement 2017-NISTMEP-EMUSA-02. 

(1) Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to ensure 

the attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from 

Grants.gov indicating an application is received does not provide information 

about whether attachments have been received. For further information or 

questions regarding applying electronically for the 2017-NIST-MEP-EMUSA-
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02 announcement, contact Christopher Hunton by phone at 301-975-5718 or 

by e-mail at grants@nist.gov. 

(2) Applicants are strongly encouraged to start early and not wait until the 

approaching due date before logging on and reviewing the instructions for 

submitting an application through Grants.gov. The Grants.gov registration 

process must be completed before a new registrant can apply electronically. 

If all goes well, the registration process takes three (3) to five (5) business 

days. If problems are encountered, the registration process can take up to 

two (2) weeks or more. Applicants must have a valid unique entity identifier 

number and must maintain a current registration in the Federal government’s 

primary registrant database, the System for Award Management 

(https://www.sam.gov/), as explained on the Grants.gov Web site. See also 

Section IV.3. of this NOFO. After registering, it may take several days or 

longer from the initial log-on before a new Grants.gov system user can submit

an application. Only individuals authorized as organization representatives 

will be able to submit the application, and the system may need time to 

process a submitted application. Applicants should save and print the proof of 

submission they receive from Grants.gov. If problems occur while using 

Grants.gov, the applicant is advised to (a) print any error message received 

and (b) call Grants.gov directly for immediate assistance. If calling from 

within the United States or from a U.S. territory, please call 800-518-4726. If 

calling from a place other than the United States or a U.S. territory, please 

call 606-545-5035. Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be 

available around the clock every day, with the exception of Federal holidays. 

Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after 

Federal holidays. For assistance using Grants.gov, you may also contact

support@grants.gov. 

(3) To find instructions on submitting an application on Grants.gov, Applicants 

should refer to the “Applicants” tab in the banner just below the top of the

www.grants.gov home page. Clicking on the “Applicants” tab produces two

exceptionally useful sources of information, Applicant Actions and Applicant 

Resources, which applicants are advised to review. 

Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two 

business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has 

received its application. Closely following the detailed information in these 

subcategories will increase the likelihood of acceptance of the application by the 

Federal agency’s electronic system. 

Applicants should pay close attention to the guidance under “Applicant FAQs,” as it 

contains information important to successful submission on Grants.gov, including 
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essential details on the naming conventions for attachments to Grants.gov 

applications. 

All applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored into applicants’ 

schedules for delivery of their application. Applicants are advised that volume on

Grants.gov may be extremely heavy on the deadline date.

The application must be both received and validated by Grants.gov. The application 

is “received” when Grants.gov provides the applicant a confirmation of receipt and 

an application tracking number. If an applicant does not see this confirmation and 

tracking number, the application has not been received. After the application has 

been received, it must still be validated. During this process, it may be “validated” or 

“rejected with errors.” To know whether the application was rejected with errors and 

the reasons why, the applicant must log in to Grants.gov, select “Applicants” from 

the top navigation, and select “Track my application” from the drop-down list. If the 

status is “rejected with errors,” the applicant may still seek to correct the errors and 

resubmit your application before the deadline. If the applicant does not correct the 

errors, the application will not be forwarded to NIST by Grants.gov. 

Refer to important information in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times, to help 

ensure your application is received on time. 

b. Amendments. Any amendments to this NOFO will be announced through 

Grants.gov. Applicants may sign up on Grants.gov to receive amendments by email 

or may request copies from Adelwiza Lequin by telephone at (301) 975-4395 or by 

e- mail to mepnofo@nist.gov.

V. Application/Proposal Review Information

1. Evaluation Criteria. The evaluation criteria, selection factors, and review and 

selection processes for this program are set forth below. Reviewers will evaluate 

how well the applicant’s proposed approach will achieve the goals and objectives of 

this competition, and support the MEP mission, as described in Section I. of this

NOFO. NIST will use the following evaluation criteria in evaluating applications and 

assigning weights, with a maximum score of 100.

a. Alignment with MOU Framework for MEP – Manufacturing USA Institute 

Collaboration (30 points; sub-criteria will receive equal weight)

i. Reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant’s proposal aligns with 

the 4 elements of the NIST–DOD MOU (see Section I. of this NOFO), which 

defines the framework for how Manufacturing USA Institutes and MEP 
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Centers can work together to facilitate engagement of small U.S. 

manufacturers to:

• Increase small U.S. manufacturer awareness of Manufacturing USA 

Institute focus areas and resources; 

• Ensure the involvement of small U.S. manufacturers in the processes 

and activities associated with informing and developing the research 

agendas of the Manufacturing USA Institutes; 

• Increase small U.S. manufacturers’ participation in Manufacturing USA 

Institute research; and 

• Ensure the transition of Manufacturing USA Institute research results 

to small U.S. manufacturers for implementation. 

Reviewers will evaluate how effective and thorough the proposed approach 

will be in accomplishing these framework elements. The quality and technical 

merit of the proposed approach will be evaluated, as well as the number of 

framework elements that are addressed. 

ii. Reviewers will evaluate the adequacy of the proposed business model and 

service delivery mechanisms, including the respective roles and 

responsibilities of the proposed team members and their proposed 

relationships to each other, the identified tasks, and measureable milestones 

and assess the likelihood that and the extent to which those models and 

mechanisms will be developed, tested, deployed, and implemented so as to 

best leverage available resources, add capabilities to the MEP Program, and 

enhance the impact of Manufacturing USA Institutes’ efforts to benefit the 

technological needs of small U.S. manufacturers. The quality and technical 

merit of the applications will also be evaluated based upon the likelihood that 

and the extent to which the proposed approach will result in positive impacts 

for small U.S. manufacturers in terms of

 

• new and retained sales; 

• jobs created or saved; and 

• new small U.S. manufacturers’ investments in their businesses and 

small U.S. manufacturers’ cost savings. 

b. Development of a Sustainable Manufacturing USA Institute – MEP 

Collaboration to Benefit Small U.S. Manufacturers (10 points; sub-criteria 

will receive equal weight) 

i. Reviewers will assess the viability of the proposed business models being 

developed and tested. Specifically, reviewers will evaluate the extent to 

which the proposed approach will be based upon a revenue model that is 
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aligned with, and can persist within, the operating parameters for participating 

MEP Center(s), Manufacturing USA Institute(s), and the small U.S. 

manufacturers to be served. Included here will be an assessment of the 

likelihood that and the extent to which the proposed model will be able to 

sustain the provision of cutting edge innovative manufacturing technological 

assistance to small U.S. manufacturers beyond the period of performance of 

an award under this announcement. 

 

ii. Reviewers will also assess the likelihood that the proposed approach will 

attract small U.S. manufacturers on a large scale – potentially on the order of 

hundreds or more, annually, per participating Manufacturing USA Institute or 

MEP Center. 

c. Manufacturing USA Institutes and MEP Network Building (20 points; subcriteria will receive equal weight) 

i. Reviewers will assess the extent to which the approach in the applicant’s 

proposal cultivates network building across the national network of MEP 

Centers, as well as the national network of Manufacturing USA Institutes and 

other organizations and entities involved with U.S. manufacturing. Reviewers 

will assess the quality, merit, depth, and breadth of the network building being 

proposed by each applicant. 

ii. Reviewers will assess the extent to which proposals contribute to national 

network building and demonstrate achievable national scale benefits for U.S. 

manufacturing. Proposals contributing to national network building and 

national scale benefits for U.S. manufacturing will be evaluated higher than 

those whose impacts are assessed as more localized.

d. Key Personnel and Organizational Structure. (20 points; sub-criteria will 

receive equal weight). Reviewers will assess the ability of the key personnel 

and the applicant’s proposed management structure to successfully conduct the 

project being proposed. 

All proposed pilot projects must involve the embedding of MEP Center personnel 

operating in residence (as defined in this NOFO in Section I. and Section 

IV.2.a.(6).(d). at one (1) or more of the Manufacturing USA Institutes identified in 

Section I. and III.1. of this NOFO. Such personnel embedding must involve the 

placement of MEP Center representatives from one or more MEP Centers within 

residence on at least a one (1) FTE cumulative basis and at least a 0.5 FTE 

basis for any single embedded Center employee at the primary Manufacturing 

USA Institute for the entirety of the federal award period, which may not exceed 

two years. In this connection, if an applicant proposes the embedding of MEP 
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Center personnel in more than one (1) Manufacturing USA Institute identified in 

Section I. and III.1. of this NOFO, the application must clearly designate the 

primary Manufacturing USA Institute and the applicant must meet the one (1)

FTE minimum annual embedding requirement by embedding at least one (1) 

MEP Center personnel FTE at the designated primary Manufacturing USA 

Institute.

It is required that the embedded MEP Center personnel operate in residence at 

the participating Institutes. For purposes of this NOFO, MEP Center personnel 

being embedded in residence at a Manufacturing USA Institute means the MEP 

embedded personnel are physically based at the Institute commensurate with the 

commitment identified in the project narrative and budget, utilizing Institute office 

space and interacting with Institute staff and members. This must be clearly 

stated and evidenced in the proposal, and the applicant must include a 

statement that there will be at least one (1) or the equivalent of one (1) FTE 

in residence at the designated primary Manufacturing USA institute and 

provide salary information in their proposal that is consistent with this 

statement as full-time in the proposed budget. Being embedded in residence 

also means that the embedded personnel are wholly focused on project tasking 

included in the proposed approach during the time while they’re embedded at the 

Institute – versus being focused on customary MEP Center duties. 

 

Applicants may also propose approaches that involve the participation of multiple 

Manufacturing USA Institutes, as well as multiple MEP Centers. Any proposal, 

however, must include participation from at least one (1) of the five (5) 

Manufacturing USA Institutes identified in Sections I. and III.1. of this NOFO. 

Reviewers will assess the significance of the effort being proposed in terms of 

amount of staff time being allocated to the embedding of personnel from MEP 

Centers within Manufacturing USA Institutes, in relation to the overall proposed 

effort. 

Reviewers will also assess the quality, merit, and extent to which the following is 

evident when evaluating the qualifications of the applicant and the effectiveness 

of the proposed program management approach: 

i. Proposed personnel identified from the MEP Center(s) to be embedded within 

the participating Manufacturing USA Institute(s) have the appropriate 

education, technical background, and experience assisting small U.S. 

manufacturers, especially in areas relating to technology acceleration and 

working with supply chains, to appropriately represent the involved MEP

Center(s) to the involved Manufacturing USA Institute(s);
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ii. Key personnel are identified in the participating Manufacturing USA 

Institute(s), the participating MEP Center(s), and other participating 

organizations to appropriately support the activities of the proposed pilot 

project, including the embedding of personnel;

iii. Proposed management structure and organizational roles are clearly defined 

and aligned to plan, direct, monitor, organize and oversee the implementation

of the proposed approach to achieve project objectives, and the proposed 

organizational structure flows logically from the specified approach to the 

project deliverables; and 

iv. Proposed organizational structures and participating personnel from the MEP 

Center(s) and Manufacturing USA Institute(s) are ready to begin project 

operations upon receipt of funding award. 

e. Budget. (20 points; sub-criteria will receive equal weight). Reviewers will 

assess the suitability and focus of the applicant’s budget for each year of the 

proposed Pilot Project, with a performance period of up to two (2) years. It is 

expected that the amount of project award funding that is applied to direct project 

activity costs, including salaries of embedded personnel, should be maximized. 

The reviewers will consider the extent to which the: 

i. Proposed budget projections are reasonable and appropriate for the scale of 

effort to be undertaken by the applicant over each year of the proposed 

project plan; and 

ii. The proposal’s narrative explains the rationale for each of the budgeted 

items, including assumptions the applicant used in budgeting for the overall 

project, and the proposed budget is aligned to support the execution of the 

proposed project consistent with the objectives of the project, the objectives 

and expectations of this program, and to advance MEP system goals. 

2. Review and Selection Process

Proposals, reports, documents and other information related to applications 

submitted to NIST and/or relating to financial assistance awards issued by NIST will 

be reviewed and considered by Federal employees, Federal agents and contractors, 

and/or by non-Federal personnel, all of whom enter into appropriate nondisclosure 

agreements covering such information.

a. Initial Administrative Review of Applications. An initial review of timely received 

applications will be conducted to determine eligibility, completeness, and 

responsiveness to this NOFO and the scope of the stated program objectives. 
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Applications determined to be ineligible, incomplete, and/or non-responsive may be 

eliminated from further review. However, NIST, in its sole discretion, may continue 

the review process for an application that is missing non-substantive information, the 

lack of which may easily be rectified or cured. 

b. Full Review of Eligible, Complete, and Responsive Applications. Applications 

that are determined to be eligible, complete, and responsive will proceed for full 

reviews in accordance with the review and selection processes below:

(1) Evaluation/Review and Ranking. All eligible, complete and responsive 

applications will be peer reviewed by at least three (3) independent, objective 

individuals with appropriate professional and technical expertise relating to 

the topics covered in this NOFO. Reviews will be limited to technical and cost 

matters, based on the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this NOFO). A 

mix of Federal and non-Federal reviewers may be used. If non-Federal 

reviewers are used, the reviewers may discuss the applications with each 

other, but scores will be determined on an individual basis, not as a 

consensus. The reviewers may ask questions of some or all applicants in 

writing. Reviewers will assign each application a score, based on the 

application’s responsiveness to the NOFO evaluation criteria, with a 

maximum score of 100.

Applicants whose applications receive an average score of 70 or higher out of 

100 will be deemed finalists. If deemed desirable, all finalists will be invited to 

participate with reviewers (the reviewers who reviewed the applications) in 

separate conference calls and/or all finalists will be invited to participate in 

individual site visits that will be conducted by the reviewers at the applicant’s 

location. Finalists will be reviewed and evaluated based on the same 

evaluation criteria, and reviewers may revise their assigned numeric scores 

based on the evaluation criteria as a result of the conference call and/or site 

visit. 

A rank order will be prepared based on the average of the reviewers’ scores 

and assigned adjectival ratings in accordance with the following scale:

Fundable, Outstanding (90-100); 

Fundable, Very Good (80-89);

Fundable (70-79); or 

Unfundable (0-69). 

For decision-making purposes, applications receiving the same adjectival 

rating will maintain a rank order based on the average of the reviewers’ 

scores – both within the particular adjectival ranking, as well as overall. 
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The Subject Matter Expert, who will be a NIST MEP federal employee, will 

review all of the reviewers’ final scores, written technical comments and the 

final ranking of the proposals, and will provide a written recommendation to 

the Selecting Official concerning the funding of awards under this NOFO. 

The Subject Matter Expert may recommend to the Selecting Official that 

awards be made out of rank order (i.e., from a lower adjectival category) 

based upon one or more of the selection factors described in section V.3 of 

this NOFO. 

(2) Selection. The Selecting Official is the MEP Director or designee. The 

Selecting Official makes the final recommendation to the NIST Grants Officer 

regarding the funding of applications under this NOFO. The Selecting Official 

shall be provided all applications, all the scores and technical assessments of 

the reviewers, a written funding recommendation from the Subject Matter 

Expert, and all information obtained from the applicants during the evaluation, 

review and negotiation processes. 

The Selecting Official will generally select and recommend the most 

meritorious applications for awards based on the technical comments and 

adjectival rankings, recommendation from the Subject Matter Expert, and/or 

one or more of the selection factors described in Section V.3. of this NOFO. 

The Selecting Official retains the discretion to select and recommend an 

application out of rank order (i.e., from a lower adjectival category) based on 

one or more of the selection factors, or to select and recommend no 

applications for funding. The Selecting Official’s recommendation to the 

Grants Officer shall set forth the bases for the selection decision. 

As part of the overall review and selection process, NIST reserves the right to 

request that applicants provide pre-award clarifications and/or to enter into 

pre-award negotiations relative to programmatic, financial or other aspects of 

an application, such as but not limited to, the revision or removal of proposed 

budget costs, or the modification of proposed project activities, work plans or 

program goals and objectives. In this regard, NIST may request that 

applicants provide supplemental information required by the Agency prior to 

award. NIST also reserves the right to reject an application where information 

is uncovered that raises a reasonable doubt as to the responsibility of the 

applicant. The final approval of selected applications and issuance of awards 

will be by the NIST Grants Officer. The award decisions of the NIST Grants 

Officer are final. 

c. Federal Awarding Agency Review of Risk Posed by Applicants. After 

applications are proposed for funding by the Selecting Official, the NIST Grants 
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Management Division (GMD) performs pre-award risk assessments in accordance 

with 2 C.F.R. § 200.205, which may include a review of the financial stability of an 

applicant, the quality of the applicant’s management systems, the history of 

performance, and/or the applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, 

regulatory, or other requirements imposed on non-Federal entities. 

In addition, prior to making an award where the total Federal share is expected to 

exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $150,000), NIST GMD will 

review and consider the publicly available information about that applicant in the 

Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). An 

applicant may, at its option, review and comment on information about itself 

previously entered into FAPIIS by a Federal awarding agency. As part of its review 

of risk posed by applicants, NIST GMD will consider any comments made by the 

applicant in FAPIIS in making its determination about the applicant’s integrity, 

business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards. Upon 

completion of the pre-award risk assessment, the Grants Officer will make a 

responsibility determination concerning whether the applicant is qualified to receive 

the subject award and, if so, whether appropriate special conditions that correspond 

to the degree of risk posed by the applicant should be applied to an award.

3. Selection Factors. The Selection Factors for this NOFO are as follows:

a. The availability of Federal funds; 

b. Relevance of the proposed project to the program goals and policy objectives;

c. Reviewers' evaluations, including technical comments; 

d. Ensuring appropriate geographic diversity in the award of MEP funding, as well 

diversity in awarding MEP funding to multiple MEP Centers and Manufacturing 

USA Institutes; 

e. Ensuring appropriate diversity in targeted industry sectors and/or supply chains; 

f. The selection factors contained in 15 U.S.C. § 278k-1(e)(3) and 

g. Whether the project duplicates other projects funded by DoC or by other Federal 

agencies. 

4. Anticipated Announcement and Award Date. Review, selection, and award 

processing is expected to be completed by July 2017. The anticipated start date for 

awards made under this NOFO is expected to be in August, 2017.

5. Additional Information

a. Notification to Unsuccessful Applicants. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified 

in writing. 
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b. Retention of Unsuccessful Applications. An electronic copy of each non-selected 

application will be retained for three (3) years for record keeping purposes. After 

three (3) years, it will be destroyed. 

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices. Successful applicants will receive an award package from 

the NIST Grants Officer. 

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 

a. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit 

Requirements. Through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101, the Department of Commerce 

adopted Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit 

Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, which apply to awards in this 

program. Refer to http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and http://go.usa.gov/SBg4. 

b. Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions. The Department of Commerce will apply the Financial Assistance 

Standard Terms and Conditions dated December 26, 2014, accessible at 

http://go.usa.gov/hKbj, to this award. The Department of Commerce Financial 

Assistance Standard Terms and conditions may be updated by the time of award, 

and those in effect at the time of award will be applied to awards made under this 

NOFO. Refer to Section VII. of this NOFO, Federal Awarding Agency Contacts, 

Grant Rules and Regulations, if you seek the information at this link and it is no 

longer working or you need more information. 

c. Pre-Award Notification Requirements. The Department of Commerce will apply 

the Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

dated December 30, 2014 (79 FR 78390), accessible at http://go.usa.gov/hKkR.

Refer to Section VII. of this NOFO, Federal Awarding Agency Contacts, Grant Rules 

and Regulations, if you seek the information at this link and it is no longer working or 

you need more information.

d. Funding Availability and Limitation of Liability. Funding for the program listed in 

this notice is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations. 

NIST issues this notice subject to the appropriations made available under the 

current continuing resolution funding the Department of Commerce, the Further 

Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act of 2017, Public Law 114-254 

(December 11, 2016). NIST anticipates making awards for the program listed in this 

notice provided that funding for the program is continued beyond April 8, 2017, the 

expiration of the current continuing resolution. In no event will NIST or the 
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Department of Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs if these 

programs fail to receive funding or are cancelled because of agency priorities. 

Publication of this announcement does not oblige NIST or the Department of 

Commerce to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.

e. Supporting Documentation. Following the issuance of an award, NIST may 

require recipients to provide copies of sub-tier agreements, including subawards and 

contracts over $150,000, as well subrecipient performance monitoring plans. 

3. Reporting

a. Reporting Requirements. The following reporting requirements described in 

Sections A.01 Performance (Technical) Reports and B.02, Financial Reports of the 

Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions 

(December 26, 2014), http://go.usa.gov/hKbj apply to awards in this program (see 

Section VI.2.b. of this FFO):

(1) Financial Reports. The Recipient shall submit an SF-425, Federal Financial 

Report, into the MEP’s Enterprise Information System (MEIS) on a semi-annual 

basis after the sixth and twelfth month of each operating year, unless other 

reporting intervals and/or due dates are identified by the NIST Grants Officer 

pursuant to a Special Award Condition. Reports will be due within 30 calendar 

days after the end of each semi-annual reporting period. The Recipient shall

submit a final SF-425 within 90 days after the expiration date of the award.

(2) Performance (Technical) Reports. The Recipient shall submit a Technical 

Report (completing all required MEIS fields) on a semi-annual basis after the 

sixth and twelfth month of each operating year, unless other reporting intervals 

and/or due dates are identified by the NIST Grants Officer pursuant to a Special 

Award Condition. Reports are due in MEIS no later than 30 calendar days 

following the end of each reporting period. The Recipient shall submit a final 

Technical/Quarterly report within 90 days after the expiration date of the award, 

and publication citation information as well as links to publicly available data shall 

be submitted as soon as they become available.

If a Recipient’s Data Management Plan has changed since their last submission

of a technical report, the Recipient must include their revised plan in the next 

technical report following the revision to the plan. The revised plan must include 

all of the requirements described in Section IV.2.a.(14). of this NOFO.

Technical/Quarterly Report details are accessible on the MEIS website 

(https://meis.nist.gov/). Technical progress reports shall contain information as 

prescribed in the NIST MEP Reporting Guidelines (OMB Control Number 0693-
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0032). For further information regarding the NIST MEP Reporting Process, you 

may download a copy of the NIST MEP Reporting Guidelines at 

http://nist.gov/mep.

(3) Patent and Property Reports. From time to time, and in accordance with the 

Uniform Administrative Requirements set forth in 2 C.F.R. part 200 and in 

accordance with other terms and conditions governing the award, the recipient 

may be required to submit property and patent reports.

(4) Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters. In accordance with section 872 

of Public Law 110-417 (as amended; see 41 U.S.C. 2313), if the total value of a 

recipient’s currently active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement 

contracts from all Federal awarding agencies exceeds $10,000,000 for any 

period of time during the period of performance of an award made under this 

NOFO, then the recipient shall be subject to the requirements specified in 

Appendix XII to 2 C.F.R. Part 200, http://go.usa.gov/cTBwC, for maintaining the 

currency of information reported to SAM that is made available in FAPIIS about 

certain civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings involving the recipient.

b. Audit Requirements. 2 C.F.R. 200 Subpart F, adopted by the Department of 

Commerce through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101 requires any non-Federal entity (including 

non-profit institutions of higher education and other non-profit organizations) that 

expends Federal awards of $750,000 or more in the recipient’s fiscal year to conduct 

a single or program-specific audit in accordance with the requirements set out in the 

Subpart. Applicants are reminded that NIST, the Department of Commerce Office of 

Inspector General, or another authorized Federal agency may conduct an audit of an 

award at any time.

c. Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. In accordance 

with 2 C.F.R. Part 170, all recipients of a Federal award made on or after October 1, 

2010, are required to comply with reporting requirements under the Federal Funding 

Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. No. 109-282). In general, all 

recipients are responsible for reporting sub-awards of $25,000 or more. In addition, 

recipients that meet certain criteria are responsible for reporting executive 

compensation. Applicants must ensure they have the necessary processes and 

systems in place to comply with the reporting requirements should they receive 

funding. Also see the Federal Register notice published September 14, 2010, at 75 

FR 55663 available here http://go.usa.gov/hKnQ.

VII.Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

Questions should be directed to the following contact persons: 
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Subject Area Point of Contact

Administrative, budget, cost-sharing, 

eligibility questions and other 

programmatic questions. 

Michael Simpson

Phone: (301) 975-6147

Fax: (301) 963-6556 

E-mail: mepnofo@nist.gov 

Technical Assistance with Grants.gov 

Submissions 

Christopher Hunton 

Phone: (301) 975-5718 

Fax: (301) 975-8884 

E-mail: grants@nist.gov

Grants.gov

Phone: (800) 518-4726 

E-mail: support@grants.gov

Grant Rules and Regulations Gilbert Castillo

Phone: (301) 975-3726

E-mail: gilbert.castillo@nist.gov 

VIII. Other Information

1. Protected and Proprietary Information. The applicant acknowledges and 

understands that information and data contained in applications for financial 

assistance, as well as information and data contained in financial, performance and 

other reports submitted by applicants, may be used by the Department of Commerce 

in conducting reviews and evaluations of its financial assistance programs. For this 

purpose, applicant information and data may be accessed, reviewed and evaluated 

by Department of Commerce employees, other Federal employees, Federal agents 

and contractors, and/or by non-Federal personnel, all of whom enter into appropriate 

conflicts of interest and nondisclosure agreements covering the use of such 

information. As may be provided in the terms and conditions of a specific financial 

assistance award, applicants are expected to support program reviews and 

evaluations by submitting required financial and performance information and data in 

an accurate and timely manner, and by cooperating with Department of Commerce 

and external program evaluators. In accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.303(e), 

applicants are reminded that they must take reasonable measures to safeguard 

protected personally identifiable information and other confidential or sensitive 

personal or business information created or obtained in connection with a 

Department of Commerce financial assistance award.
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In addition, Department of Commerce regulations implementing the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552, are found at 15 C.F.R. Part 4, Public 

Information. These regulations set forth rules for the Department regarding making 

requested materials, information, and records publicly available under the FOIA. 

Applications submitted in response to this NOFO may be subject to requests for 

release under the Act. In the event that an application contains information or data 

that the applicant deems to be confidential commercial information that should be 

exempt from disclosure under FOIA, that information should be identified, bracketed, 

and marked as Privileged, Confidential, Commercial or Financial Information. In 

accordance with 15 CFR § 4.9, the Department of Commerce will protect from 

disclosure confidential business information contained in financial assistance 

applications and other documentation provided by applicants to the extent permitted 

by law.

2. Webinar Information Session: NIST MEP will hold one or more webinar 

information sessions for organizations that are considering applying for or 

participating as a team member in this funding opportunity. The webinar(s) will 

provide general information regarding MEP and this funding opportunity and offer 

general guidance on preparing proposals. NIST MEP staff will be available at the 

webinar to answer general questions. During the webinar(s), detailed proprietary or 

technical discussions about specific project ideas will not be permitted. Also, NIST 

MEP staff will not critique or provide feedback on any specific project ideas during 

the webinar(s) or at any time before submission of a proposal to MEP. However, 

NIST MEP staff will provide information about potential participants, eligibility, 

evaluation criteria and selection factors, the selection process, program priorities 

and objectives, and the general characteristics of a competitive proposal during this 

webinar. It is expected that the webinar(s) will be held approximately within thirty 

(30) business days after posting of this NOFO. The exact date and time of the 

webinar(s) will be posted on the NIST MEP website at 

www.nist.gov/mep/embedding-mep-manufacturing-usa-institutes-pilot-projectsround-three. The webinar(s) will be recorded, and a link to the recording(s) will be 

posted on the NIST MEP website. In addition, the webinar presentation(s) will be 

available after the webinar(s) on the NIST MEP website. Organizations wishing to 

participate in the webinar(s) must register in advance by contacting NIST MEP by email at mepnofo@nist.gov. Participation in the webinar(s) is not required in order for 

an organization to submit an application pursuant to this NOFO. 

3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Questions from applicants pertaining to 

NOFO eligibility, cost sharing requirements, evaluation criteria and selection factors, 

selection process, and the general characteristics of a competitive proposal will not 

be considered on an informal basis. Applicants must submit all such questions in 

writing to mepnofo@nist.gov. Answers to such written questions submitted to NIST 
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MEP may be made available to the public as part of an FAQ document, which will be 

periodically updated on the MEP website at www.nist.gov/mep/embedding-mepmanufacturing-usa-institutes-pilot-projects-round-three.