Rapid Assistance (for) Coronavirus Economic Response (RACER) Grant Program

Below summarizes the funding opportunity, refer to the posted NOFO for more details.

What is this funding opportunity? NIST invites AFFOA, AIM Photonics, America Makes, ARM, BioFabUSA, BioMADE, CESMII, CyManII, IACMI, LIFT, MxD, NextFlex, PowerAmerica, RAPID, & REMADE Manufacturing USA institutes to propose high-impact projects designed to fund awards for research, development, and testbeds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

Please note that members of the institutes, individuals, and organizations not associated with the institutes are NOT eligible to apply under this NOFO; however, they may participate as part of an institute’s team.

The NOFO is published on www.grants.gov at this URL https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333762.

How much is available? Approximately $60 M will be available for this grant program. NIST anticipates funding individual projects up to $5 million for projects involving a single institute, and up to $15 million for projects involving multiple institutes. Project durations are limited to:

•     For projects up to $5 million, the period of performance is up to two years.

•     For projects funded at greater than $5 million, the period of performance is up to 3 years.

Who is eligible?  Eligibility for this program is limited to current Manufacturing USA institutes not receiving financial assistance under 15 U.S.C. § 278s(e), as amended, at the time of proposal submission.  In other words, the Manufacturing USA institutes eligible to submit applications under this funding opportunity are: AFFOA, AIM Photonics, America Makes, ARM, BioFabUSA, BioMADE, CESMII, CyManII, IACMI, LIFT, MxD, NextFlex, PowerAmerica, RAPID, & REMADE.  An organization (university or non-profit) that runs or hosts an institute may submit an application on the institute’s behalf. 

How do I submit a proposal? Please submit your proposals via www.grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number 2021-NIST-MFGUSA-RACER-01.

Funding Instrument: Cooperative Agreement

Any Cost Sharing Requirements?  No
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 – May 25, 2021
• Information Webinar – June 2: Organizations wishing to participate in the webinar must register in advance by sending email to manufacturingusa [at] nist.gov (manufacturingusa[at]nist[dot]gov) with “2021-NIST-MFGUSA-RACER-01 Webinar” in the subject line.
• Application Deadline – July 26, 2021
• Award Announcement – February 28, 2022
• Award Issued – February 28, 2022

• Commerce Department Awards $54 Million in American Rescue Act Grants to Increase Access to Advanced Manufacturing Opportunities

  https://www.manufacturingusa.com/news/commerce-department-awards-54-million-american-rescue-act-grants-increase-access-advanced

Resources
The following resources are currently available:

• Current and Pending Support Form

Webinar Information Session - Date
This webinar will provide general information regarding this program and offer general guidance on preparing proposals. NIST staff will answer general questions (scope, eligibility, evaluation criteria, review process, deadlines).  They will not critique or provide feedback on any specific project ideas during the webinar or at any time before proposal submission.

Webinar participation is not required to submit an application. Organizations wishing to participate in the webinar must register in advance by sending email to manufacturingusa [at] nist.gov (manufacturingusa[at]nist[dot]gov) with “2021-NIST-MFGUSA-RACER-01 Webinar” in the subject line.

Webinar Presentations slides: MfgUSA RACER Webinar 06032021.pdf  

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Applicants must submit questions in writing to manufacturingusa [at] nist.gov (manufacturingusa[at]nist[dot]gov) “2021-NIST-MFGUSA-RACER-01 questions“ in the subject line. Answers to such written questions submitted to NIST OAM may be made available to the public as part of an FAQ document, which will be periodically updated on this page.

View FAQ