The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded more than $30 million to Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Utah, and Vermont. The selected awardees and their funding amounts are:
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Alabama Training Network: $2,191,702
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Arkansas Division of Workforce Services: $1,291,618
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Georgia Tech Research Corporation: $3,227,001
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Louisiana Department of Economic Development: $1,537,719
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Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership: $2,959,870
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The Curators of the University of Missouri: $2,656,601
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Montana State University: $839,900
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The Ohio Manufacturers Association (OMA) Educational and Industrial Development Institute: $6,076,983
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Pennsylvania IRC Network: $6,110,684
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Puerto Rico Manufacturing Extension Inc.: $939,133
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University of Utah: $1,492,598
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Vermont State Colleges: $812,300
The competition was open to all eligible parties, including those that had previously operated centers. New awardees were selected in Louisiana, Missouri, and Ohio, while the remaining new center awards went to incumbent organizations.
The original funding opportunity called for applications from 13 states and Puerto Rico; however, NIST made no selections for centers in Alaska or California. NIST plans to accept applications for these two states in the next competition, scheduled for early 2027, with cooperative agreements anticipated to begin on April 1, 2027.