This section provides information on the history of the Manufacturing USA program, the provisions of the RAMI Act, and the awards process and membership of the institutes. The June 2011 PCAST report was followed in July 2012 by another report, prepared by the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee; this report contained 16 recommendations to improve the manufacturing competitiveness of the United States. One of the recommendations was to establish a national network of manufacturing innovation institutes as public-private partnerships. After DOD established the first such institute as a pilot institute in 2012, the National Science and Technology Council released its January 2013 report proposing a preliminary design for the network. This report envisioned a network of public-private partnerships to be supported with a co-investment of federal obligations ranging from $70 million to $120 million for each institute and equal or greater amounts in nonfederal pledges (also known as cost-share). The amount of investment would depend on such factors as the magnitude of the opportunity and maturity of the technology and would be distributed across 5 to 7 years. Total capitalization of an institute across this time period was envisioned to be $140 million to $240 million. The report also envisioned that an institute would become sustainable within 7 years of the public announcement of an award of financial resources to start up and operate the institute, and that the institute would provide long-term economic impact in its region and nationwide. Building on the July 2012 Advanced Manufacturing Partnership report, an October 2014 PCAST report provided 12 recommendations with further guidance on how the United States could sustain its lead in innovation. For example, one of the recommendations was to create—through the National Economic Council, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the implementing agencies and departments—a shared Manufacturing USA governance structure that includes input from various agencies as well as from private sector experts, organized labor, and academia. Under the RAMI Act, the purposes of the Manufacturing USA program are to improve the country’s manufacturing competitiveness and increase production of goods manufactured predominantly within the United States; stimulate U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing research, innovation, and technology; facilitate transition of innovative technologies into scalable, cost- effective, and high-performing manufacturing capabilities; facilitate access by manufacturing enterprises to capital-intensive infrastructure; accelerate development of an advanced manufacturing workforce; facilitate peer exchange of and documentation of best practices in addressing advanced manufacturing challenges; leverage nonfederal sources of support to promote a stable and sustainable business model without the need for long-term federal funding; and create and preserve jobs. The RAMI Act requires the Secretary of Commerce to report annually to Congress, until December 31, 2024, on the program’s performance, including an assessment of Commerce’s institutes and an assessment of the participation in, and contributions to, the network by institutes established by other agencies. Annual reports are also to include an assessment of how well the program is meeting its statutory purposes. The RAMI Act also contains a number of provisions related to collaboration between Commerce and other agencies. For example, in awarding financial assistance to establish institutes, the RAMI Act requires that the Secretary of Commerce, through AMNPO, collaborate with federal departments and agencies whose missions contribute to or are affected by advanced manufacturing. In addition, several of the functions of the AMNPO under the RAMI Act also pertain to collaboration. The functions that the RAMI Act identifies for the national office include: Overseeing the planning, management, and coordination of the Entering into memorandums of understanding with federal departments and agencies whose missions contribute to or are affected by advanced manufacturing, to carry out the program’s statutory purposes; Developing, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the RAMI Act, and updating not less frequently than once every 3 years thereafter, a strategic plan to guide the program; Establishing such procedures, processes, and criteria as may be necessary and appropriate to maximize cooperation and coordinate the activities of the program with programs and activities of other federal departments and agencies whose missions contribute to or are affected by advanced manufacturing; Establishing a clearinghouse of public information related to the activities of the program; and Acting as a convener of the network. Additionally, the RAMI Act requires that, when developing and updating the strategic plan, the Secretary of Commerce solicit recommendations and advice from a wide range of stakeholders, including industry, small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, research universities, community colleges, and other relevant organizations and institutions on an ongoing basis. The RAMI Act also requires the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that the AMNPO incorporates NIST’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership into Manufacturing USA program planning to ensure that the results of the program reach small and medium-sized entities. DOD, DOE, and Commerce have provided competitive financial assistance for institutes using similar processes for soliciting applications and making awards. DOD and DOE have identified prospective technology focus areas through requests for information from nonfederal organizations and meetings with industry officials and other stakeholders. For Commerce institutes, the RAMI Act requires that the Secretary of Commerce ensure an open process that allows for consideration of all applications relevant to advanced manufacturing regardless of technology focus area. Subsequently, each of the sponsoring agencies released notices of intent announcing a competition for their new institutes and then released federal funding opportunity announcements. The federal funding announcements included goals and objectives for the institutes that were related to the Manufacturing USA program and to the agency mission. Potential applicants generally have had opportunities to ask clarifying questions via mechanisms such as webinars and e-mail. Applicants submitted pre-application concept papers, which were evaluated by subject matter experts in the government to determine, for example, the potential to fulfill a recognized national need. Based on these subject matter experts’ review, the sponsoring agencies invited selected applicants to submit full proposals. Full proposals included detailed information—such as a business strategy, leadership and sustainment plan, and technology investment plan—and were evaluated by multi-agency source selection team. Ultimately, an official from the sponsoring federal agency selected the winning applicant, after which the agency and the applicant negotiated an agreement, such as a cooperative agreement, to establish and manage the institute. These awards provided financial resources to start up and operate an institute focusing on the specific technology area. The institutes provide members with access to shared facilities and equipment. Members can take advantage of these resources in a variety of ways, such as by collaborating on research related to the technology focus area of the institute. Membership is open to all U.S. industrial organizations, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies that want to further technology and education in a certain focus area. Each institute has its own membership terms— including a range of costs, rights, and benefits—and required time commitment. Specific terms and conditions are detailed in formal membership agreements. As of December 2016, DOD, DOE, and Commerce collectively had established a total of eleven innovation institutes, which have become part of the Manufacturing USA network. Seven of these eleven institutes were operating (i.e., supporting research projects in their technology focus areas) as of December 2016. In addition, one DOD institute, two DOE institutes, and potentially one additional Commerce institute were in the process of being established through a competitive solicitation. Our analysis of institute membership between May 2016 and September 2016 shows that about 780 manufacturers and other entities, such as academic institutions and nonprofit organizations, have become members of the operating institutes. Institute members receive a variety of benefits and rights, such as networking opportunities. As of December 2016, DOD, DOE, and Commerce collectively had established a total of eleven institutes that have become part of the Manufacturing USA network. Four institutes—three DOD institutes and one DOE institute—were established prior to the enactment of the RAMI Act in 2014. The remaining seven institutes were established after the enactment of the RAMI Act. Four of these institutes—Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, the Advanced Tissue Biofabrication Manufacturing Innovation Institute, the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, and the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals—were established in 2016 and were not yet operating as of December 2016. However, all eleven institutes are part of the network. Appendix I provides additional information on the DOD and DOE institutes that were operating as of December 2016. The institutes, which are located across the United States, focus on a wide variety of areas of advanced manufacturing, including additive manufacturing (three-dimensional, or 3D, printing), lightweight metals, integrated photonics circuits, novel fiber and textiles, and biopharmaceuticals. DOD, DOE, and Commerce plan to provide over $800 million in financial assistance, generally through cooperative agreements, for the eleven established institutes they sponsor. According to DOD, DOE, and NIST officials, the agencies plan to distribute this assistance over a 5 to 7 year period, at the end of which they expect the institutes to be sustainable without guaranteed federal financial assistance. Award recipients have pledged about $1.9 billion in nonfederal funds over the same 5 to 7 year period. However, the officials also said they expect the institutes will be eligible to receive additional federal financial assistance, such as competitively awarded grants for research. According to the February 2016 Manufacturing USA program annual report, the seven institutes established by DOD are designed to overcome the challenge DOD faces when the existing industrial infrastructure is insufficient to develop and produce new and emerging technologies that hold strategic promise. DOD considers its institutes to represent a key investment strategy for the department and its Manufacturing Technology program. Table 1 provides an overview of the seven institutes DOD had established as of December 2016. DOE’s mission is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.