NIST MEP Competitive Awards Program (CAP)
Funds existing state manufacturing excellence partnerships in the United States through supplemental agreements to expand capabilities.
CAP provides supplemental cooperative-agreement funding to active MEP Centers to expand capabilities in areas not covered by their base cooperative agreement. Focus areas include Industry 4.0 / advanced manufacturing technology, workforce development services, and supply-chain resilience. Single-center proposals can receive up to $1,000,000; multi-center proposals (where one center leads and others participate as subawardees) can receive up to $5,000,000. Projects run up to 3 years. Unlike the base MEP Center cooperative agreement, CAP requires NO non-federal cost share. Funding Opportunity Number 2021-NIST-MEP-CAP-01 (amended March 2022) was open on a rolling basis through May 8, 2026 — subject to appropriations. A new NOFO iteration will be needed to re-open.
Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.