OpportunityTitle: Manufacturing Technology Acceleration Center (M-TAC) Pilot Projects
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Eligible applicants are existing MEP Centers.  The term &#147;existing MEP Centers&#148; is defined as organizations who are currently the legal recipient of the MEP Base Center Award.  Sub-awardees of those MEP Base Center Awards are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to form teaming arrangements involving multiple MEP Centers such that manufacturing supply chain needs can be addressed on a local or regional level, and also have a broad geographic reach to facilitate leveraging of resources and access to manufacturers on a national scale.  Applicants are also strongly encouraged to adequately demonstrate the leveraging of resources and competencies tied to the industry sectors, supply chains, and technology areas that are relevant to the local regions where the applicant team resides.  This may include organizations that are working with, or as part of, state or local technology-based economic development strategies such as innovation clusters.  An eligible organization may work individually or include proposed subawardees and/or contractors or other collaborators in a project proposal, effectively forming a team or consortium.
Description: NIST invites proposals from eligible applicants to conduct approximately two (2) pilot projects that will inform future NIST investment leading to the development of a network of Manufacturing Technology Acceleration Centers (M-TACs). The emphasis of these pilots will be to demonstrate the conduct of technology transition and commercialization activities with small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers to foster their readiness to adopt and/or adapt advanced technologies into their manufacturing processes and products. The pilots will specifically focus on addressing the technical and business challenges encountered by small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers as they attempt to integrate, adopt, transition, and commercialize both existing and emerging product and process technologies into their operations to help them grow and compete within manufacturing supply chains as innovative, value-adding components of our nation&#146;s economy.These pilots will be operated by existing Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers and are expected to work in collaboration with other existing resources, including research consortia and institutions such as those operating as part of or in conjunction with the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), state and local technology-based economic development intermediaries, industry associations, industry-university partnerships, and manufacturing organizations. The pilots will create and test business models for potential, future operationalized M-TACs that can scale up on a national level to serve the needs of significant numbers of small and mid-sized manufacturers &#150; on the order of thousands on an annual basis. The pilots will also document successes and challenges.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Agency Contact
GrantorContactText: Christopher Hunton &lt;br/&gt;Grants Technical Assistant &lt;br/&gt;Phone 301-975-5718
CloseDateExplanation: Electronic applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday, September 27, 2013.  Paper applications must be received by NIST no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday, September 27, 2013.  Applications received after the respective deadline will not be reviewed or considered.