NIST Rapid Assistance for Coronavirus Economic Response (RACER) | 2021 NIST MFGUSA RACER 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for 2021 NIST MFGUSA RACER 01

The NIST Rapid Assistance for Coronavirus Economic Response (RACER) grant opportunity is a discretionary federal funding program run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support fast, high-impact work that helps the United States prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus. The focus is on practical efforts that can move quickly and make a measurable difference, especially through applied research and development and the use of testbeds (realistic development and demonstration environments) that can accelerate deployment, manufacturing readiness, validation, and scale-up of solutions tied to the pandemic and its economic effects. The funding is issued as a cooperative agreement, which typically means NIST expects to have substantial involvement during the project period compared with a standard grant, such as technical coordination, milestone oversight, or collaboration on program goals.

Eligibility is tightly restricted. Only current Manufacturing USA institutes that are not receiving financial assistance under 15 U.S.C. 278s(e), as amended, at the time they submit the proposal are allowed to apply. The eligible applicant institutes listed in the notice are: AFFOA, AIM Photonics, America Makes, ARM, BioFabUSA, BioMADE, CESMII, CyManII, IACMI, LIFT, MxD, NextFlex, PowerAmerica, RAPID, and REMADE. No other entities are eligible to submit an application directly. An eligible institute can propose a project on its own or can structure the effort with subawards, including subawards to other Manufacturing USA institutes if that strengthens the project team and increases impact. NIIMBL is a special case under this opportunity: it cannot receive funding through this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), but it may participate as an unfunded collaborator if its expertise or facilities add value to a funded project.

While only the specified Manufacturing USA institutes can be the official applicants, the opportunity allows broader participation through teaming arrangements. Individual member companies of the institutes, academic partners, and other organizations or individuals that are not themselves eligible to apply may still participate in the work as part of an institute-led team. In other words, the institute serves as the lead applicant and award recipient, while partners can contribute technical work, resources, and expertise under the institute's project structure (for example, as subrecipients, contractors, or unfunded collaborators depending on the arrangement and allowability).

Key administrative details from the source information include the funding opportunity title (NIST Rapid Assistance for Coronavirus Economic Response, RACER) and funding opportunity number (2021 NIST MFGUSA RACER 01). The activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the assistance listing is associated with CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) number 11.619. The program was posted with a creation date of May 24, 2021, and an original application closing date of July 26, 2021. The notice identifies the award instrument as a cooperative agreement. The provided source excerpt does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the fields shown, so applicants would need to consult the full NOFO text for budget ranges, project periods, cost share requirements (if any), and evaluation criteria.

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIST Rapid Assistance for Coronavirus Economic Response (RACER)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.619.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-05-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-07-26. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 2021 NIST MFGUSA RACER 01

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