NIST MEP Disaster Assessment Program

The NIST MEP Disaster Assessment Program is a federal funding opportunity administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The program is authorized under the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP) Competitive Awards Program, which aims to support small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) by providing access to critical resources and expertise. NIST operates several disaster resilience research efforts and recognizes the importance of enhancing the capacity of SMMs to recover from and prepare for natural or major disasters. The primary purpose of the NIST MEP Disaster Assessment Program is to fund current MEP Center cooperative agreement holders to conduct impact assessments of SMMs located in areas affected by FEMA Disaster Declarations. These assessments are intended to identify operational disruptions, evaluate disaster-related damages, and guide affected businesses toward recovery. The program also tasks MEP Centers with assisting SMMs in identifying and accessing federal, state, and local resources to support recovery efforts. Furthermore, MEP Centers must support SMMs in developing risk mitigation strategies for future disasters. A key expectation of funded projects is to generate and share insights, best practices, and preparedness strategies with the MEP National Network and the broader SMM community to strengthen future resilience. NIST anticipates awarding between $50,000 and $1,000,000 per project, depending on the scope and severity of the relevant FEMA Disaster Declaration. Projects are expected to last no more than 18 months. Awards are provided through cooperative agreements, which include substantial involvement from NIST MEP in the planning, execution, and monitoring of the funded projects. No non-federal cost share or matching funds are required for this program. Applicants are, however, required to include anticipated costs for attending at least one MEP National Network meeting and a project kickoff conference in their budgets. Eligibility is limited to current recipients of MEP Center cooperative agreements. Applicants may apply individually or as part of a consortium that includes other MEP Centers or contract partners. A MEP Center may only submit one application per FEMA Disaster Declaration and may not participate in other applications for the same declaration unless they are not submitting their own proposal. Preference will be given to proposals involving the MEP Center serving the affected state or proposals covering multiple impacted states through a collaborative approach. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov no later than 60 calendar days after the relevant FEMA Disaster Declaration is issued. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and NIST expects to complete its review, selection, and award process within 90 days of receiving each submission. Applicants must have active SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations at the time of submission and award. NIST does not accept applications via email, fax, or paper mail. Evaluation of applications will be based on the alignment with program goals, clarity and feasibility of the project plan, impact potential, coordination with relevant organizations, and overall cost effectiveness. Applications are reviewed by technical experts and scored according to defined criteria, with final selections made by the NIST MEP Director based on scores, reviewer comments, and strategic priorities. For questions, applicants may contact Bryana Head at mepnofo@nist.gov or refer to resources and webinars hosted on the NIST MEP program website. All required application documents, forms, and templates are detailed in the official NOFO and must be submitted through the Grants.gov platform.

Include the MEP Center from the affected state; proposals should reflect clear recovery planning and lessons sharing mechanisms.