In his fifth State of the Union address, President Obama announced education and immigration reform as core issues for his second term and laid out a plan for innovation and job creation policies that would be fundamental drivers for broad-based, long-term economic growth. While acknowledging the need for entitlement reform and deficit reduction, President Obama held firm in his conviction that public investment is necessary to ensure that the United States remains an economic superpower in the 21st century.

Following up on President Obama's advocacy of American manufacturing in the State of the Union address, the White House has released a document detailing the administration's manufacturing strategy. The strategy includes the formation of a new national network of Manufacturing Technology Acceleration Centers (MTACs), which will focus on moving technology into the products and processes of small- and medium-sized manufacturers. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership program would oversee the initiative.

Last week the Obama administration launched a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative housed within the Department of Energy. The initiative will use public-private partnerships to drive an open-source, "smart" manufacturing network that will help U.S. clean energy manufacturing firms reduce costs, increase competitiveness, and boost productivity.

The Obama administration will commit $200 million from five federal agencies to create three new manufacturing innovation institutions in 2013. Building on the Additive Manufacturing pilot initiative launched in Youngstown, OH, last year, the Department of Defense will lead two new institutes focused on Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation and Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing. A third institute, led by the Department of Energy, will focus on Next Generation Power Electronic Manufacturing. Competition for these new institutes is open immediately.

Last week, the Obama administration announced that it would commit $200 million to establish three new manufacturing innovation institutions in 2013 (see the May 8, 2013 issue of the digest).

Manufacturers across the nation celebrated National Manufacturing Day on Friday and the topic on many people's minds was reshoring.

A new Office of Manufacturing Policy within the National Economic Council (NEC) will work across agency lines to coordinate the federal government's manufacturing programs and help develop manufacturing policy. On Monday, President Obama named Commerce Secretary John Bryson and NEC Chair Gene Sperling as co-chairs of the office, which will convene cabinet-level meetings on the administration's manufacturing initiatives.

Last week the Columbus Metropolitan Club hosted Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld to give remarks on the state of American manufacturing. Kleinfeld made the case that "talent is global," and that the U.S. must invest heavily in workforce development and STEM education if our country wants to continue to grow the manufacturing sector and remain globally competitive.

Last week the White House hosted a Google Hangout on the American Maker Movement and highlighted some dynamic programs that are turning the Maker Movement into a legitimate economic development tool for regions across the country.

The Obama Administration has released details on this year's $26 million Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, a multi-agency initiative to assist in the development and implementation of regionally-driven economic development strategies that support advanced manufacturing and cluster development. The challenge will fund approximately 12 new awards, each with a project period of up to three years. The deadline for applications is July 9, 2012.

President Barack Obama recently announced the creation of a national Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) to accelerate the development of manufacturing technologies at top engineering universities. The AMP initiative, which was developed based on recommendations from a report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), would leverage existing programs and proposals to invest more than $500 million in university and private R&D. The partnership is being called an "umbrella" for federal innovation programs.

In his fifth State of the Union address, President Barack Obama touted the administration’s Institutes of Manufacturing Innovation program as central to its plan to reinvigorate the American economy. The president called on Congress to expand the manufacturing network beyond the two existing institutes in Ohio and North Carolina and the six additional institutes to be rolled out in 2014. He also requested legislative action to undo last year’s sequester-related cuts to basic research, to pass patent reform and to improve U.S. STEM education.

The White House recently released Capturing Domestic Competitive Advantage in Advanced Manufacturing, a blueprint intended to serve as a national framework for the sustainable resurgence in advanced manufacturing in the United States. The report was written by the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) steering committee, a national public-private partnership formed by the Obama administration in 2011 to help increase public and private investments in advanced manufacturing and create high-paying manufacturing jobs.