Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Availability of Funds for three regions including the identified counties in Central Pennsylvania

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology invites proposals from qualified organizations for funding projects that provide manufacturing extension services to primarily small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the United States. These projects will establish manufacturing extension centers under the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program. Proposals are invited for the establishment or continuation of manufacturing extension service within three discrete geographic areas in the United States. One of these three areas includes the identified counties in Central Pennsylvania: Bedford, Blair, Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union counties. That area is covered by the Federal Funding Opportunity number 2010-NIST-MEP-CENTRAL-PENNSYLVANIA. The objective of these centers is to enhance productivity, technological performance, and strengthen the global competitiveness of small- and medium-sized U.S. based manufacturing firms. These manufacturing extension centers will become part of the MEP national system of extension service providers. Currently, the MEP national system consists of over 400 centers and field offices located throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Information regarding MEP and these centers is provided in the information packet that can be obtained at www.grants.gov with additional background information provided at http://www.mep.nist.gov. The objective of the projects funded under this program is to provide manufacturing extension services to primarily small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the United States. These services are provided through the coordinated efforts of a regionally-based manufacturing extension center and local technology resources. The management and operational structure of the manufacturing extension center is not prescribed, but should be based upon the characteristics of the manufacturers in the regional and locally available resources with demonstrated experience working with manufacturers. The proposal should include plans for integration into the MEP national system and linkages to appropriate national resources. The focus of the center is to provide those manufacturing extension services required by the small- and medium-sized manufacturers in its service region utilizing the most cost effective, local, leveraged resources for those services. It is not the intent of this program that the centers perform research and development.

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