DOC NIST

CHIPS PROGRAM OFFICE

CHIPS CONSORTIUM NARRATIVE GUIDANCE
Contents

Overview.......................................................................................................................................................3

Consortium Members .................................................................................................................................4

Strategic Vision.............................................................................................................................................5

Structure of Consortium...............................................................................................................................6

 
Overview 

The purpose of this document is to provide applicants with guidance on how to complete the 

Consortium Narrative, which will be a pdf upload that complements a detailed web form in the 

Concept Plan Application Portal. This guidance document lists all the sections that applicants 

are required to complete as part of the Consortium Narrative, along with content required to 

complete these sections. This document also provides brief descriptions in each section 

explaining what a good Consortium Narrative should look like in terms of content and length. 

This document provides guidance on the following three sections:

1. Consortium Members

2. Consortium Strategic Vision

3. Structure of Consortium

The below guide is for informational purposes only and is intended solely to assist potential 

applicants in better understanding the application requirements set forth in the CHIPS Incentives 

Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of 

Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for this program. The guide does not and is not intended to 

supersede, modify, or otherwise alter applicable statutory or regulatory requirements, or the 

specific application requirements set forth in the NOFO. In all cases, statutory and regulatory 

mandates, and the requirements set forth in the NOFO, shall prevail over any inconsistencies 

contained in the below guide. For additional guidance please refer to the Concept Plan 

Instructions, FAQs or Fact Sheet. 
Consortium Members 

This section of the Consortium Narrative should be at most 1 page. Applicants should provide 

detailed descriptions of the consortium members.

• List the names of each consortium member:

o A good Consortium Narrative will include both potential applicants as well as 

other partner entities that may be a part of the Consortium (I.e., universities, 

state/local institutions, etc.).

• List all confirmed/proposed applicant and project names of members of the consortium: 

(Note: It is not required for all consortium members to be applicants.)

o Consortia do not need to be fully formed at the concept plan phase so 

Consortium applicants should simply list the members or proposed members 

that are part of the consortium’s current plan.

• Describe the role that each consortium member will play.

 
Strategic Vision

This section of the Consortium Narrative should be at most 3 pages. As a reminder, the 

economic and national security portion of the concept plan is weighted most heavily in merit 

review, so we encourage applicants to use this opportunity to provide specificity regarding how 

the consortium’s strategy will further the economic objectives of the United States.

• Provide an overview of Consortium’s strategic vision:

o The Consortium Narrative must include an explanation of why the proposed 

projects are necessary to advance the consortium’s vision.

• Describe how the vision aligns with the Department’s national and economic security

objectives. The Consortium Narrative should refer to these objectives:

o (1) Strengthening supply chain resilience

o (2) Advancing U.S. technology leadership in semiconductor materials and 

manufacturing equipment

o (3) Supporting vibrant U.S. fab clusters

• Write a rationale for why CHIPS funding is necessary to incentivize the relevant 

consortium projects:

o The Consortium Narrative should describe the relevant investments and the 

expected impact of potential funding on the consortium’s ability to succeed 

(with emphasis on why the consortium needs incentives for its projects to be 

successful).

• Explain how the project is facilitating cluster development:

o A good Consortium Narrative will include the actions that all relevant consortium 

entities intend to pursue to facilitate cluster development (such as workforce 

training providers, labor unions, economic development corporations, 

institutions of higher education, philanthropic foundations, industry 

organizations, and Tech Hubs).

▪ Examples include infrastructure development, workforce development, 

and/or community engagement.

o A consortium that includes a state and/or local government entity should also 

list any actions the state and/or local government entity is taking or intends to 

take to facilitate cluster development. 

▪ Examples include efforts to coordinate with suppliers on site selection, 

infrastructure development, workforce development, permitting, and/or 

community engagement.

 
Structure of Consortium

This section of the Consortium Narrative should be at most 1 page. Applicants should provide a 

detailed description of the structure and governance of the Consortium.

• Describe the structure of the consortium:

o Include lead entities, types of entities, number of entities.

• Describe the governance of the consortium:

o A good Consortium Narrative should include a proposed timeline of the 

interlacing activities, which entities will be leading/supporting these efforts, 

cadence of coordination, communication channels, cross-consortium leadership 

(as relevant), broader operating model and agreements among consortium 

entities, etc.