NIST Awards $1,074,000 to the MEP Center in Michigan

The U.S Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) has made one (1) cooperative agreement award as part of its 2019-NIST-MEP-CYBERDEFMFG-01 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). 

The following MEP Center will receive an award totaling $1,074,000 in federal funds in conjunction with a partnership between NIST MEP and the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Manufacturing Technology Program that was formalized via an Interagency Agreement (IAA) to provide outreach, education, and technical assistance to small and medium-sized defense contractors which are manufacturers via the MEP National Network™ of Centers, located in all 50 States and Puerto Rico.

Industrial Technology Institute, dba Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (Plymouth, MI)

The MEP Center in Michigan, Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (The Center), in collaboration with a vast majority of the nationwide network of MEP Centers, will lead a project to leverage the expertise of the MEP National Network to assist defense contractors, with an emphasis on small to medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs), in implementing cybersecurity protections needed to safeguard both Controlled Defense Information (CDI) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) being handled in defense manufacturing supply chains.  The project addresses three primary tasks:

• Conduct outreach events to create awareness and educate defense contractors about the importance of cybersecurity in their operations;
• Provide defense contractors with the technical assistance needed to ensure implementation of adequate security protections of CDI and CUI;
• Coordinate the application of Use Case Development and Implementation with NIST Labs to demonstrate leading-edge manufacturing operational technology (OT) for cybersecurity.

The project period of performance is 8/1/2019 to 12/31/2020 totaling $1,074,000 in federal funds. Collaborators include MEP Centers in states across the nation.  The award will utilize an MEP National Network approach, which represents the most effective way to expeditiously deliver the services and capabilities needed to address existing and future SMM cybersecurity challenges nationwide.

A unique public-private partnership, the MEP National Network delivers comprehensive, proven solutions to U.S. manufacturers, fueling growth and advancing manufacturing nationally.