NIST has published a new NOFA, the CHIPS Incentives Program – Commercial Fabrication Facilities opportunity, which aims to catalyze long-term economically sustainable growth in the domestic semiconductor industry. Additionally, this opportunity seeks to support US economic and national security.
- List of Key Dates
- List of Guides and Templates
This funding opportunity seeks applications for projects for the construction, expansion, or modernization of commercial facilities. Moreover, facilities must be designed for the front- and back-end fabrication of leading-edge, current-generation, and mature-node semiconductors. Additionally, two complementary funding opportunities—for materials and manufacturing equipment facilities and for research and development facilities—will be announced later this year.
For potential applications for leading-edge facilities, pre-applications (optional) and full applications will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning March 31, 2023. In addition, potential applications for current-generation, mature-node, and back-end production facilities, pre-applications (recommended) will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning May 1, 2023, and full applications will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning June 26, 2023.
This project is incredibly data-dependent and has specific data collection and evaluation requirements. Therefore, one best practice is to hire an independent external evaluator (Like us!!). Below is a quick list of some of the data the external evaluator should expect to collect.
- Data on program performance. (Goals, Objectives, and KPIs or OKRs!!)
- Metrics and a plan to collect demographically disaggregated data on outreach, recruitment, hiring, education, and outcomes (including job placement and wages) of skills training programs and upskilling efforts •
- Disaggregated data on the demographics of the workforce, including breakdowns of work hours, wages, benefits, and other measures of job quality.
Your evaluator should help you asses what data will need to be collected during the award period. Furthermore, your evaluator should have a plan to make such collection complete and efficient.
The evaluator you select should
- Be an experienced evaluator or evaluation firm (FYI – we are);
- Be committed to creating regional-scale, technology-driven innovation ecosystems throughout every region of the United States, accelerating emerging technologies, driving economic growth, addressing key societal challenges, and maintaining national competitiveness (FYI – we do) ;
- Have a working knowledge of all guidelines, protocols, processes, and evaluation requirements (FYI – we totally do).
Got questions on how to find an External Evaluator? We have you covered. Check out this post from August 2020. https://www.ebhoward.com/choosing-the-right-external-evaluator/
Want to know a little bit more about our Evaluation Services? We have you covered. See more here. https://www.ebhoward.com/evaluation-4/
Want to talk with us about how we serve as your External Evaluator for the CHIPS grant proposal? Schedule a consult call today. https://calendly.com/ebhoward/15min
We work with high-growth startups and organizations that support the startup and innovation ecosystem. We build highly specific non-dilutive funding menus, provide proposal preparation services, and measure outcomes of funding through evaluation. Schedule a consult call with us HERE.