MEP State Partnership Support Project FY 2021

Back to Closed Notice of Funding Opportunities

UPDATE: This opportunity has closed. 

2021 State Partnership Support Program Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites applications from eligible applicants to provide in-depth collaborative support in developing and advancing collaborative relationships between the NIST MEP, MEP Centers, States and other stakeholders. This effort will help the MEP National Network to align programs and support systems to improve the competitiveness of the Nation’s manufacturers and to support the continuous improvement, growth, sustainability, supply chains, and innovation and technology acceleration in manufacturing.

To view a PDF of the full Notice of Funding Opportunity, click here.

Please submit your proposals via www.grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number 2021-NIST-MEP-STATE-PARTNERSHIP-01.

Anticipated Amounts
In Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21), NIST anticipates funding one (1) multi-year award, with a five-year (5) period of performance and a total maximum federal funding amount not to exceed $5,000,000 over the entire five-year period of performance. If a proposal for a multiyear award is approved, NIST anticipates funding up to $1,200,000 for the first, third, and fifth year of the program, which are deemed to the periods of increased activities, and $700,000 for the second and fourth year for continued base level activities of the program.

Funding Instrument: Cooperative Agreement

Who Is Eligible?
Applicants must be a U.S. based for-profit or not-for-profit institution or organization. An eligible applicant may work individually or may include proposed subawards to other organizations to carry out the activities described in the proposal.

Cost Sharing Requirements
Non-federal cost share is not required for awards issued pursuant to the NOFO.

Competition Timeline
Below is an outline of the key steps along with the target timing of each. These actions will take place over the next several months. Updates and changes will be posted to this site as needed.

• Publication of NOFO in Grants.gov – January 15, 2021
• Information Webinar – January 21, 2021: https://bluejeans.com/171122728/7762?src=calendarLink   
• Application Deadline – March 17, 2021
• Award Announcement – May 31, 2021
• Award Issued – July 2021

MEP Resources
The following resources are currently available:

• American Innovation and Competitiveness Act 2017
• Single Year Budget Table and Narrative Template
• Multi-year Budget Table Template
• Current and Pending Support Form

Webinar Information Session
NIST MEP facilitated an information webinar on January 21, 2021. Webinar participation is not required to submit an application. You can watch the recorded webinar at https://bluejeans.com/s/twGqVB0zX62. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Questions from applicants pertaining to NOFO eligibility, 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 [at] nist.gov (mepnofo[at]nist[dot]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 this page.