NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing manufacturing micro-factory innovations in tribal communities (NM, AZ)

该区域创新引擎发展奖的重点是解决以技术为基础的经济发展中的一个关键空白：未能让部落社区参与技术转让和先进制造业。该试点计划将在纳瓦霍民族开发分布式制造微型工厂和技术中心，这将使这些偏远的农村部落社区能够参与正在西南部发展的航天工业的新兴供应链运营。这些微型工厂将以符合部落社区价值观的方式实施。服务的地区是纳瓦霍民族，其中包括新墨西哥州和亚利桑那州。纳瓦霍技术大学（NTU）和亚利桑那州立大学（ASU）将合作制定一项运营生态系统计划。 NTU拥有强大的技术和培训能力，并辅以ASU的技术，经济发展和技术转让优势。该项目将建立一个微型工厂网络，从空间技术供应链机会中受益，并为部落采用数字基础设施和数字制造技术提供路线图，以创造收入和就业机会。这项工作将提高社区对就业和创业机会的认识。该项目与新当选的纳瓦霍族领导人合作，通过利用部落、高等教育和行业资源，采取综合方法，创造一个可持续的制造业生态系统，进一步实现部落经济繁荣的目标。NTU的先进制造中心将成为先进制造基地网络的中心。亚利桑那州立大学制造系统和网络学院将为网站配备最先进的技术。ASU将建立一个法律的框架，以促进与潜在行业合作伙伴的合同签订过程。这一努力将发展产业和投资者之间的联系，帮助在部落成员中培养创业精神，并促进发展创业支助机制，吸引建立制造业网络所需的更多私人投资。通过这个发展奖，项目团队将建立一个路线图，其中航天工业供应链的机会，生产设施的要求，劳动力的技术技能需求，该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过利用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.

This Regional Innovation Engines Development Award is focused on addressing a key void in technology-based economic development: a failure to involve tribal communities in technology transfer and advanced manufacturing. The pilot program will develop distributed manufacturing micro-factories and technology centers in the Navajo Nation, which will enable these remote rural tribal communities to participate in emerging supply chain operations in the space industry, which is growing in the Southwest. These micro-factories will be implemented in a manner consistent with tribal community values. The region of service is the Navajo Nation, which includes the states of New Mexico and Arizona. Navajo Technical University (NTU) and Arizona State University (ASU) will work collaboratively to develop a plan for an operational ecosystem. NTU has strong technical and training capabilities complemented by ASU's technical, economic development, and technology transfer strengths. The project will establish a network of micro-factories to benefit from space technology supply chain opportunities and provide a roadmap for Tribal adoption of digital infrastructure and digital manufacturing technologies that generate revenue and create jobs. The effort will increase community awareness of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. Working with newly elected Navajo Nation leadership, the project takes a comprehensive approach by leveraging tribal, higher education, and industry resources to create a sustainable manufacturing ecosystem that furthers tribal economic prosperity goals. NTU's Center for Advanced Manufacturing will be the hub of the network of advanced manufacturing sites. The ASU School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks will equip sites with state-of-the-art technology. ASU will establish a legal framework that will facilitate the contracting process with prospective industry partners. This effort will develop industry and investor connections, help foster an entrepreneurial mindset among tribal members, and facilitate the development of entrepreneurial support mechanisms that attract additional private investment needed to build out the manufacturing network. Through this Development Award, the project team will establish a roadmap within which space industry supply chain opportunities, production facility requirements, workforce technical skill needs, and overall management and coordination mechanisms are identified in preparation for a full NSF Engine.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.