Our Programs

Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program

The Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program is a competitive grant program designed to support long-term community investments that strengthen national security innovation and expand the capabilities of the defense manufacturing industrial ecosystem.

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Program Update

There currently is no funding for the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program for Fiscal Year 2025. Defense Manufacturing Community designations and redesignations will only be considered during an open competition period when program funding is available. 

The Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program is a competitive grant program designed to support long-term community investments that strengthen national security innovation and expand the capabilities of the defense manufacturing industrial ecosystem.  

Under the program, the Secretary of Defense designates consortia as defense manufacturing communities to strengthen the national security industrial base.


Program Details

From FY 2020 through FY 2023, a total of $110 million has been allocated to 23 Defense Manufacturing Communities to assist over 5,366 defense businesses and 100,000 workers. This program currently assists: 

  • More than 1,143 small and medium size companies to receive guidance on entering the defense sector;
  • Development of 65 new defense technologies/ products;
  • Improvement of 133 defense technologies/ products; and
  • Enhancement of cybersecurity capabilities of 452 companies.

The program is authorized under the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Section 846, P.L. 115-232).

Eligibility and Requirements

Proposals under this program should be submitted by a Lead Organization on behalf of the regional manufacturing consortium. Lead Organizations can be state, local, or tribal government, non-profit or private-non-profit institutions. A consortium can be comprised of the following organizations and various combinations of the following:

  • state and local government organizations
  • defense industry and association-led organizations
  • non-profit organizations
  • academia
  • any combination of the above

Consortium must demonstrate regional collaboration capabilities and technological and/or industrial base supply chains that are determined to be critical to national security. Funding and technical assistance can be used to enhances a region's ability to narrow gaps and address needs in defense manufacturing in the areas of:  

  • Critical skills
  • Facilities
  • Research and development
  • Small business support

Fiscal Year 2023 Grant Awards

On September 25, 2023, the Department of Defense announced the award of 6 grants totaling approximately $30 million under the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program by the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. These awards followed a competitive selection process culminating in the designation of these communities as “Defense Manufacturing Communities” by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy on August 16, 2023. 

The awards derive from Fiscal Year 2023 appropriated funding and leverage an additional $10,934,491 in non-Federal funds for a total investment of $40,841,366 to make long-term investments in critical skills, facilities, workforce development, research and development, and small business support in order to strengthen the national security innovation base. 

The grants awards are as follows:

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Installation State Federal Grant Award
Department of Defense NY $5,000,000.00
Department of Defense NY $5,000,000.00
Department of Defense PA $4,908,960.00
Department of Defense MI $4,997,965.00
Department of Defense MO $4,999,950.00

Resources

Other Transactions Webinar 

Click here to view the July 31st Other Transactions (OT) webinar featuring Ms. Mary Kathryn Robinson, the Director for Contract Policy in Defense Pricing and Contracting (DPC). Click here to view the webinar slides.

Connecticut Defense Manufacturing Community

A FY20 grantee of the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program, the Connecticut Defense Manufacturing Community produced a Model Based Technology guidebook as an output of the Digital Model Initiative (DMI), a program designed to accelerate the adoption of 3-D design and manufacturing technology throughout Connecticut’s defense supply chains. Connecticut’s Chief Manufacturing Officer Paul Lavoie explains the value of the DMI at the state and national level here: