National Institute of Standards and Technology February 27, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Manufacturing USA reauthorization prescribes three pathways for creating centers for manufacturing innovation or institutes in the Manufacturing USA network. Through this Request for Information (RFI), NIST is seeking comment from the public on the pathway where manufacturing centers outside of Manufacturing USA are recognized by the Secretary of Commerce as centers for manufacturing innovation in response to a formal request by the centers for such recognition. The law provides that a manufacturing center substantially similar to Manufacturing USA institutes, but which do not have federal sponsorship, may be recognized for participation in the network, but does not specify criteria for similarity. This pathway may be termed the ``alliance'' model for membership in Manufacturing USA. These could be existing agency-sponsored institutes which are no longer under a federal financial aid agreement or existing entities not in the network with relevant characteristics that are new to the network. Through this RFI, NIST also is seeking broad input and participation from stakeholders to assist in identifying and prioritizing issues and proposed solutions on the information provided regarding the proposed ``alliance'' path to designate a Manufacturing USA Institute, including what should be the minimum characteristics and requirements for such entities.