ignate eligible consortiums as manufacturing com-
munities through a competitive process. 
(2) ELIGIBLE CONSORTIUMS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible consortium 
is a consortium that— 
(i) represents a region defined by the 
consortium in accordance with subpara-
graph (B); 
(ii) includes at least one— 
(I) institution of higher edu-
cation; 
(II) private sector entity; and 
(III) government entity; 
(iii) may include one or more— 
(I) private sector partners; 
(II) institutions of higher edu-
cation; 
(III) government entities; 
(IV) economic development and 
other community and labor groups; 
(V) financial institutions; or 
(VI) utilities; and 
(iv) has, as a lead applicant— 
(I) a district organization (as de-
fined in section 300.3 of title 13, 
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Code of Federal Regulations, or suc-
cessor regulation); 
(II) an Indian tribe (as defined 
in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter-
mination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) or a consor-
tium of Indian tribes; 
(III) a State or a political sub-
division of a State, including a special 
purpose unit of a State or local gov-
ernment engaged in economic or in-
frastructure development activities, or 
a consortium of political subdivisions; 
(IV) an institution of higher edu-
cation or a consortium of institutions 
of higher education; or 
(V) a public or private nonprofit 
organization or association that has 
an application that is supported by a 
State, a political subdivision of a 
State, or a native community. 
(B) REGIONS.—Subject to approval by the 
Secretary, a consortium may define the region 
that it represents if the region— 
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(i) is large enough to contain critical 
elements of the key technologies or supply 
chain prioritized by the consortium; and 
(ii) is small enough to enable close 
collaboration among members of the con-
sortium. 
(3) DURATION.—Each designation under para-
graph (1) shall be for a period of two years. 
(4) RENEWAL.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of an ap-
plication submitted under subparagraph (B), 
the Secretary may renew a designation made 
under paragraph (1) for up to two additional 
two-year periods. Any designation as a manu-
facturing community or renewal of such des-
ignation that is in effect before the date of the 
enactment of this Act shall count toward the 
limit set forth in this subparagraph. 
(B) APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL.—An eli-
gible consortium seeking a renewal under sub-
paragraph (A) shall submit an application to 
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
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(C) MODIFICATIONS
AUTHORIZED.—The 
Secretary may renew a designation under sub-
paragraph (A) for an eligible consortium that— 
(i) has changed its composition, either 
by adding or removing members; or 
(ii) as part of its application under 
subparagraph (B), submits a revision to 
the 
plan 
submitted 
under 
paragraph 
(5)(B)(iv) or the strategy submitted under 
paragraph (5)(B)(v). 
(D) EVALUATION FOR RENEWAL.—In de-
termining whether to renew a designation of an 
eligible consortium under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall assess the eligible consortium 
based upon— 
(i) the performance of the consortium 
against the terms of the consortium’s most 
recent designation under paragraph (1) 
and any post-designation awards the con-
sortium may have received; 
(ii) the progress the consortium has 
made 
with 
respect 
to 
project-specific 
metrics the consortium proposed in the 
consortium’s application for the most re-
cent designation under paragraph (1), par-
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ticularly with respect to those metrics that 
were designed to help communities track 
their own progress; 
(iii) whether any changes to the com-
position of the eligible consortium or revi-
sions to the plan or strategy described in 
subparagraph (C)(ii) would improve the 
competitiveness of United States manufac-
turing; and 
(iv) such other criteria as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate. 
(5) APPLICATION FOR DESIGNATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible consortium 
seeking a designation under paragraph (1) shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time and in such manner as the Secretary may 
require. 
(B) CONTENTS.—Each application sub-
mitted to the Secretary under subparagraph (A) 
shall include— 
(i) a description of the regional 
boundaries of the consortium; 
(ii) a description of the manufacturing 
concentration of the consortium, including 
an assessment of how the manufacturing 
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concentration of the consortium competi-
tively ranks nationally according to meas-
ures relating to employment, sales, location 
quotients for an industry’s level of con-
centration, or such other measures as the 
Secretary considers appropriate; 
(iii) an integrated assessment of the 
local industrial ecosystem of the region of 
the consortium, which may include assess-
ment of workforce and training, such as 
that 
involving 
women 
and 
underrep-
resented minorities, supplier network, re-
search and innovation, infrastructure or 
site development, trade and international 
investment, operational improvements, and 
capital access components needed for man-
ufacturing activities in such region; 
(iv) an evidence-based plan for devel-
oping components of such ecosystem (se-
lected by the consortium)— 
(I) by making specific invest-
ments to address gaps in such eco-
system; and 
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