FY21 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) – RESEARCH COLLABORATION (RC) | FOA AFRL AFOSR 2021 0007

Opportunity Information: Apply for FOA AFRL AFOSR 2021 0007

The FY21 Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) - Research Collaboration (RC) grant opportunity is a U.S. Department of Defense basic research funding program designed to strengthen university research capacity in states and territories that are eligible under DEPSCoR. The program is sponsored and overseen by the DoD Basic Research Office within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), with awards made by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and administrative support handled through the Office of Naval Research (ONR). In practical terms, it is a DoD-wide effort that uses competitive, peer-reviewed grants to expand the pipeline of researchers and institutions able to contribute to national security-relevant science and engineering.

The central goals of the program focus on long-term research infrastructure and competitiveness. DEPSCoR aims to increase the number of capable university researchers in eligible jurisdictions who can perform science and engineering research that aligns with DoD needs, and to improve the ability of institutions of higher education to develop, plan, and execute research programs that are both mission-relevant and competitive under standard federal peer-review processes. A major emphasis is also placed on creating durable growth: the DoD is trying to raise the likelihood that participating institutions will win more competitively awarded federal research funding over time, beyond the life of a single DEPSCoR award.

This specific FY21 Research Collaboration (RC) competition anticipates multi-year grant awards funded from FY2021 appropriations. The DoD projected about $12.6 million total available to support roughly 21 awards. Each individual grant can be up to $600,000 in total costs across a three-year period, typically structured as up to $200,000 per year for three years. Funding is contingent on appropriations and availability, and the announcement makes clear that submission does not guarantee an award.

The research scope is broad but targeted to basic science and engineering areas that matter to the DoD mission and national security. The solicitation lists topic areas that proposals should address, including physics of sensing, space propulsion and power, complex networks, atomic and molecular physics, modeling of complex systems, biomathematics, solid mechanics, environmental chemistry, electronic sensing, nanoscale computing devices and systems, marine mammals and biology, additive manufacturing, social networks and computational social science, and hypersonic aerothermodynamics. Applicants are expected to align their proposed work with one or more of these areas as further detailed in the full announcement materials.

Administratively, the opportunity is a discretionary grant under the “Science and Technology and other Research and Development” activity category (CFDA 12.431). The funding opportunity number is FOA AFRL AFOSR 2021-0007 and it was posted May 10, 2021. The closing date information indicates that full proposal submissions were by invitation only, with a deadline of 11:59 PM on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Eligibility is listed as “Others,” with the expectation that applicants consult the announcement’s eligibility section for the precise definitions and requirements tied to DEPSCoR-eligible states/territories and institution types.

• The Department of Defense, Air Force Office of Scientific Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY21 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) – RESEARCH COLLABORATION (RC)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.431.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 10, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 22, 2022 Close date for full proposal submissions (by invitation only) is NLT 1159PM, Tuesday, 22 February 2022.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 21 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for FOA AFRL AFOSR 2021 0007

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