The National Institute of Standards and Technology has awarded roughly $12 million in contracts to 11 organizations that will operate manufacturing centers as part of a program designed to aid small and medium-size entities.

NIST said Thursday organizations that secured cooperative agreements under the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program will operate MEP centers in Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina and Wyoming.

Each agreement covers a five-year period that will commence on April 1, 2017 and selected organizations will look to help NIST develop approaches to transfer technologies from Manufacturing USA institutes as well as create strategies for small manufacturer engagement.

“The award winners and the MEP centers they operate play a critical role in our continued efforts to strengthen the economy and create jobs in the manufacturing sector,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.

The selected organizations that will operate MEP centers in select states include:

• Delaware Technical Community College
• High Technology Development Corp.
• Iowa State University of Science & Technology
• Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center
• Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership
• Mississippi Manufacturers Association
• New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership
• South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership
• The Dakota Manufacturing Extension Partnership
• University of Nevada-Reno
• University of Wyoming

NIST has also awarded contracts worth approximately $5 million to California Manufacturing Technology Consulting, Massachusetts MEP, Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center and Pennsylvania MEP to support four Manufacturing USA programs.

Selected MEP centers will conduct projects that seek to accelerate the transition of the latest technological concepts into manufactured products as well as offer assistance to small U.S. manufacturers through Jan. 14, 2019.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection‘s Air and Marine Operations component has deployed an unmanned aircraft system to San Angelo, Texas, to help AMO personnel monitor border security in the state.

CBP said Tuesday that the AMO deployment of General Atomics-built Predator B drone will utilize an existing AMO operating location and support the agency’s border security mission.

The agency conducted a test at San Angelo Regional Airport in February last year to examine the feasibility of operating the UAS out of a civilian airport.

AMO crews plan to utilize systems technology and real-time networked data dissemination and exploitation during the 14-week UAS deployment to help detect, identify and monitor threats as well as coordinate a response with law enforcement partners at the nation’s border regions.

The aircrews will operate the UAS at above 18,000 feet with the use of Instrument Flight Rules and in constant communications with Air Traffic Control, CBP noted.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General looks for a new chief information officer who will concurrently serve as deputy assistant inspector general for management and administration.

A notice posted Friday on USAJobs stated the chosen candidate will manage and provide advisory services for the VA OIG’s resource management and administrative support functions.

The incumbent will also oversee the office’s operations in technical areas such as budget formulation and execution, data analysis, electronic report publication, financial management, human resources and internal controls.

Candidates for the position must be ready to offer all support services required to manage a nationwide organization that covers multiple administrative and professional disciplines as well as oversee the management of resources in accordance with laws, rules and regulations, according to the notice.

The VA OIG comprises the Offices of Audits and Evaluations, Healthcare Inspections and Investigations as well as the Office of Contract Review and Office of Management and Administration.

President Barack Obama has signed an executive order that seeks to amend the federal government’s security clearance process as well as standards of suitability and fitness for employment, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday.

Nicole Ogrysko writes the order calls for the Office of Personnel Management to facilitate “open competitive examinations” that will test an individual’s fitness and capacity to serve in the government as well as oversee fitness and suitability standards based on conduct and character for appointment and standards related to education, citizenship, training, age and other requirements.

The document also codifies the information technology modernization work that OPM, Defense Department and the National Background Investigation Bureau have started with regard to the security clearance process, Ogrysko reports.

The order also calls for an “executive branch investigative service provider” that will work to ensure security of federal background investigations and includes clarification on continuous evaluation and vetting policies, the report added.

The Education Department has unveiled its first developer hub designed to serve as a dedicated space to centralize developer resources, document open government efforts and utilize the department’s data and code.

ED created the usedgov.github.io site with the General Services Administration‘s 18F unit in an effort to organize open source projects and application programming interfaces as well as consolidate news articles on how the department works to increase federal education data access, according to a blog post published Tuesday.

The online developer hub was developed as an extension to ED’s official account on Github and as part of the InformED open data initiative.

ED also seeks to establish a collaborative relationship with the developer community and expand the department’s  catalog of APIs and open source components through gathering of customer feedback.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has announced plans to award individual grants worth up to $100,000 to help small businesses research and develop technology platforms.

NIST said Thursday the 2017 Small Business Innovation Research initiative seeks applications in 24 technology areas that are classified under collaboration and partnership; data and modeling; precision measurements; and systems.

The agency awarded R&D grants worth a total of $3.3 million to 19 small businesses as part of the 2016 SBIR program.

Small businesses can submit applications for the 2017 SBIR until March 30.

The U.S. Air Force has exercised the option to purchase a site in the city of St. Louis for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s new west headquarters.

NGA said Friday it expects the property acquisition for the Next NGA West campus, which will be based at the corner of north Jefferson and Cass avenues, to occur by the end of fiscal year 2017.

The move comes six months after NGA Director Robert Cardillo signed a record of decision that indicates the selection of a site in St. Louis for the new west HQ campus.

The agency noted it expects to occupy the new facility by 2022.