The EMPIR initiative is co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the EMPIR Participating States.

EMPIR projects are typically three years research projects between National Metrology Institutes (NMIs), Designated Institutes (DIs), Academia and Industry. The programme is organised in so-called Technical Calls: Industry, Environment, Energy, Fundamentals and Health.

Projects are being selected based on a multi-step decision process. Initially, Proposed Research Topics (PRTs) are being submitted to EURAMET. The EMPIR Committee of EURAMET selects the most promising and suitable topics and publishes the list of Selected Research Topics (SRTs). Then a consortium is formed to develop a Joint Research Proposal (JRP) for an SRT. The JRPs are reviewed by an international group of experts. After a Review Conference at which the Referees meet the JRP coordinators to discuss final questions, a ranked list of the JRPs is developed based on which projects are being selected for funding.

The Met4FoF project was selected in the Industrie Call 2017 after going through this process.

The European Factories of the Future Research Association (EFFRA) is a non-for-profit, industry-driven association promoting the development of new and innovative production technologies. It is the official representative of the private side in the 'Factories of the Future' public-private partnership.
 
The key objective of EFFRA is to promote pre-competitive research on production technologies within the European Research Area by engaging in a public-private partnership with the European Union called 'Factories of the Future'.
 
EFFRA was established to shape, promote and support the implementation of the ‘Factories of the Future’ public-private partnership.
 
The partnership aims to bring together private and public resources to create an industry-led programme in research and innovation with the aim of launching hundreds of market-oriented cross-border projects throughout the European Union. Such projects will produce demonstrators and models to be applied in a wide range of manufacturing sectors.