FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) RESEARCH COLLABORATION (RC)

The U.S. Department of Defense announces the Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) - Research Collaboration (RC) opportunity, with the program sponsored and managed through the Office of the Under Secretary for War, Research and Engineering, Science and Technology, Foundations, awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and administered through the Office of Naval Research. The program is intended to increase the number of university researchers in eligible States and Territories capable of performing science and engineering research responsive to Department of Defense needs, enhance the research capabilities of eligible institutions of higher education, and increase their long-term competitiveness for federally funded science and engineering research. The competition focuses on basic research relevant to the Department of Defense mission and national security and seeks bold and ambitious research capable of advancing fundamental knowledge. The Research Collaboration competition establishes a two-person mentor-mentee research team. The Applicant, who serves as Principal Investigator, must be a full-time faculty member who has never served as Principal Investigator on a prior Department of Defense directly funded research Prime award. The Collaborator, who serves as co-Principal Investigator, must provide active mentorship and must have served as Principal Investigator on a Department of Defense directly funded research Prime award active between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2026. Both researchers must hold qualifying appointments at institutions of higher education in DEPSCoR eligible States or Territories and generally must be tenured or tenure-track, subject to the qualifying-letter provisions for short-term appointments. The Applicant and Collaborator may be at the same institution or different eligible institutions. The Applicant may submit only one White Paper, while a Collaborator may participate with more than one Applicant. The competition addresses twelve specified research topics spanning Space Biosciences, Dynamic Data and Information Processing, Condensed Matter Physics, Aerodynamic Sciences, Earth Materials and Processes, Dynamical Influences on Performance, Wireless Communications Networks, Electrochemistry, Nonlinear Transforms for Dynamical Systems, Local and Regional Assessment for Public Affairs, shock mitigation for warfighter protection, and efficient packaging and deployment of unmanned aircraft systems. Up to 14.4 million dollars is anticipated for as many as twenty-four grants. Each grant may provide up to 600,000 dollars in total costs, with funding up to 200,000 dollars per year for three years. The Applicant institution must receive more than 50 percent of the funding. A small portion may be allocated through a subaward to non-university partners in eligible States or Territories when justified. Cost sharing or matching is not required and is not an evaluation criterion. Proposal preparation costs are not allowable as a direct charge to an award, and pre-award costs are governed by the applicable federal requirements and award terms. The application process has three stages. Applicants must complete registration through RunGrants, submit a mandatory White Paper and supporting documentation through RunGrants, and, if invited after White Paper review, submit a Full Proposal electronically through Grants.gov. The White Paper package includes a cover page, an abstract of no more than 500 words, a three-page Program Description Narrative, a one-page Collaboration Composition Statement, a one-page Basic Research Statement, human or animal subjects information when applicable, two-page curricula vitae for both researchers, previous Department of Defense funding lists, and documentation establishing the Collaborator's qualifying prior Prime research award. Qualifying letters must also be provided when applicable. Full Proposals require the SF 424 Research and Related forms and specified attachments, including the project summary and abstract, project narrative, bibliography and references, senior and key person information, biosketches, current and pending support, budget and budget justification, project performance sites, required security documentation, privacy statements, and a letter of support, with additional items when applicable. RunGrants opens for White Paper submission on August 10, 2026. The DEPSCoR webinar is scheduled for August 25, 2026. Registration is strongly suggested and questions to Program Officers must be submitted by October 7, 2026. The mandatory White Paper and supporting documentation deadline is October 12, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. White Paper selection notifications are scheduled by January 8, 2027. Only invited applicants may proceed to the Full Proposal stage, with Full Proposals due through Grants.gov by April 5, 2027 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Notification of Full Proposal selection for award is scheduled by July 23, 2027. The award start date will be determined at award but is projected for October 2027, and the anticipated award period is three years. White Papers and Full Proposals are evaluated through merit-based competitive procedures. Initial programmatic screening considers completeness, required Gold Standard Science commitments, applicable policy requirements, relevance to the specified research portfolio and Department of Defense needs, and consistency with stated priorities. Proposals passing initial screening receive full evaluation. The primary criteria, of equal importance, address the technical merit of the proposed basic science or engineering research and its potential Department of Defense relevance and contribution to the Department of Defense mission. Additional considerations include investigator qualifications and availability, adequacy of facilities and equipment, interactions with organizations engaged in related research and development, cost realism, and applicant risk assessments. General announcement questions may be directed by email to Grants Officer Denise Johnson at denise.johnson.19@us.af.mil or Grants Officer Nicole Y. Thomas at nicole.thomas.20@us.af.mil. Overall DEPSCoR programmatic questions may be directed to Program Manager David Montgomery at david.w.montgomery61.civ@mail.mil. Technical questions must be directed by email to the Program Officer for the applicable research topic before the White Paper deadline.

Submit cutting-edge basic research rather than applied research; align the proposed work closely with the selected topic and DoD mission needs; contact the applicable Topic Area Program Officer before White Paper submission; clearly explain what is innovative and how the work advances the state of the field; demonstrate meaningful Collaborator mentorship; include clear benchmarks for measuring success and progress and required Gold Standard Science commitments; demonstrate strong technical merit and potential DoD relevance; document investigator qualifications, facilities, and beneficial research interactions; ensure proposed costs are realistic, reasonable, allowable, and allocable; submit early enough for RunGrants and Grants.gov processing and validation.