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Title 15 — Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73

§278k–1 Competitive awards program

Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY › § 278k–1

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Director must set up a competitive awards program inside the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership to give grants to Centers or groups of Centers. The money is for adding new capabilities and for projects that solve new or emerging manufacturing problems. The Director may pick one or more themes for each competition, which can change from year to year. Centers can be paid back for costs they incur. Applicants must apply the way the Director, with advice from the MEP Advisory Board, requires. Awards must be peer reviewed and chosen competitively, with an effort to pick winners from many parts of the country. The Director will favor projects that do one or more of these: make local industries more competitive, create jobs or train new hires, move research and technology from colleges or national labs into use, or recruit a diverse workforce including underrepresented groups named in related federal law. No matching funds are required. Awards last no more than 3 years. Words used here follow the main MEP law.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §278k–1

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Director shall establish within the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership under section 278k of this title and section 278l of this title a program of competitive awards among participants described in subsection (b) of this section for the purposes described in subsection (c).
(b)Participants receiving awards under this section shall be Centers, or a consortium of Centers.
(c)(1)The purpose of the program established under subsection (a) is to add capabilities to the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, including the development of projects to solve new or emerging manufacturing problems as determined by the Director, in consultation with the Director of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the MEP Advisory Board, other Federal agencies, and small and medium-sized manufacturers.
(2)The Director may identify 1 or more themes for a competition carried out under this section, which may vary from year to year, as the Director considers appropriate after assessing the needs of United States manufacturers and the success of previous competitions.
(3)Centers may be reimbursed for costs incurred by the Centers under this section.
(d)Applications for awards under this section shall be submitted in such manner, at such time, and containing such information as the Director shall require in consultation with the MEP Advisory Board.
(e)(1)The Director shall ensure that awards under this section are peer reviewed and competitively awarded.
(2)The Director shall endeavor to have broad geographic diversity among selected proposals.
(3)The Director shall select applications to receive awards that the Director determines will achieve 1 or more of the following:
(A)Improve the competitiveness of industries in the region in which the Center or Centers are located.
(B)Create jobs or train newly hired employees.
(C)Promote the transfer and commercialization of research and technology from institutions of higher education, national laboratories or other federally funded research programs, and nonprofit research institutes.
(D)Recruit a diverse manufacturing workforce, including through outreach to underrepresented populations, including individuals identified in section 1885a or section 1885b of title 42.
(E)Such other result as the Director determines will advance the objective set forth in section 278k(c) of this title or in section 278l of this title.
(f)Recipients of awards under this section shall not be required to provide a matching contribution.
(g)In making an award under this section, the Director, in consultation with the MEP Advisory Board and the Secretary, may take into consideration whether an application has significant potential for enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized United States manufacturers in the global marketplace.
(h)The duration of an award under this section shall be for not more than 3 years.
(i)The terms used in this section have the meanings given the terms in section 278k of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to this section were contained in section 278k(f) of this title, prior to the general amendment of section 278k by Pub. L. 114–329.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 117–167 inserted “United States” before “manufacturers”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 278k–1

Title 15 — Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73