NIST Announces Awards to Manufacturing Centers in Kentucky, Nebraska, Rhode Island and South Dakota

Gaithersburg, Md. — Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has offices in Kentucky, Nebraska, Rhode Island and South Dakota. The MEP Center is operated by four awardees, the University of Louisville Research Foundation, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation, and South Dakota’s Lake Area Technical College, and serves small businesses. State size manufacturer.

“These MEP centers in Kentucky, Nebraska, Rhode Island and South Dakota help manufacturers address challenges and capitalize on opportunities in key areas such as supply chain, workforce and innovation. ,” said Mojdeh Bahar, Associate Director of Innovation and Industry Services at NIST. “The Center will provide guidance on expanding quality job opportunities with a new Job Quality Toolkit rooted in the Baldrige Excellence Framework,” said Bahar.

NIST’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program strengthens US manufacturing by supporting 51 centers in 50 states and Puerto Rico. Through this program, more than 1,400 manufacturing professionals provide hands-on technical expertise to meet the critical needs of manufacturers in each state.

The total funding expected for each winner over five years is as follows:

• Kentucky: $6,217,500
• Nebraska: $3,978,500
• Rhode Island: $6,021,500
• South Dakota: $3,561,000

Winners must sign a cooperative agreement for an initial performance period of up to five years and meet cost contribution requirements. The Nebraska and Rhode Island winners have operated her existing MEP centers for nearly 10 consecutive years, while the Kentucky and South Dakota winners have joined her MEP national network of centers. It’s all about it.

The funding opportunity, announced in January, was open to nonprofits. Institutions of Higher Education; State, U.S. Territory, Local and Tribal Governments. An existing His MEP Center in good standing, receiving financial support for 10 consecutive years, as determined by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

The MEP Center Awards are recompeted every ten years, and subject to the availability of federal funding and the applicant’s good standing, the awards last up to ten years.

For every dollar of federal investment in fiscal 2021, MEP centers in these four states generated more than $20 in new sales growth and $25 in new client investment. This equates to $275 million in new and retained sales. And during the same period, for every $1,143 of her federal investment, one manufacturing job was created or maintained.