The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) established the Manufacturing PA Innovation Program to leverage the internationally acclaimed science and engineering talent and discovery capacity of Pennsylvania’s institutions of higher education to ensure that Pennsylvania remains a national and international leader in manufacturing and achieves the full economic potential for high-paying manufacturing jobs.  This initiative supports manufacturing research collaborations between accredited PA colleges/universities and PA manufacturers.  The goal of the program is to enable these institutions to seamlessly bring their capabilities to bear to support industrial innovation and position the Commonwealth at the forefront of the next wave of manufacturing.

Detailed information about the project requirements, review criteria, proposal template, budget template, and award management is included in the proposal guidelines. Faculty may submit proposals by using the link below. The proposal form requires the submission of the technical proposal template (template may be downloaded below) along with a proposed budget, budget justification, budget summary, and University statement of intent.

Proposal information

All institutions that receive Manufacturing Innovation Program awards will need to be entered into Carnegie Mellon’s vendor system for payment purposes. Institutions will need to complete the supplier forms and return them to Jim Whitfield at james7@andrew.cmu.edu. These forms must be submitted before the sub-agreement process can be started. Institutions that have NOT engaged in the Manufacturing Innovation Program in the past with Carnegie Mellon are strongly encouraged to submit the Supplier package at proposal time. 

Program overview

Learn more about the program