FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) - RESEARCH COLLABORATION (RC)
Open Posted
- Opportunity number
- NOFOAFRLAFOSR20260004
- Agency
-
Air Force Research Laboratory
Air Force Materiel Command, Department of Defense
- Applications due
- Award size
- $200,000 to $600,000
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
-
- 12.431 Basic Scientific Research
- Funding instrument
- Grant
- Category
-
- Science and Technology and other Research and Development
- Eligible applicants
-
- Other
- Points of contact
-
- Ms. Nicole Thomas nicole.thomas.20@us.af.mil
- Ms. Denise Johnson denise.johnson.19@us.af.mil
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research is soliciting applications for up to $14.4 million in grants to fund basic research collaborations between pairs of faculty researchers, with a White Paper due October 12, 2026, and Full Proposal due April 5, 2027.
Eligible applicants are full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members at institutions of higher education in 34 designated DEPSCoR-eligible states and territories who have never served as Principal Investigator on a prior DoD directly funded research Prime award. Each applicant must partner with a collaborator who has served as PI on a DoD directly funded research Prime award actively between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2026, and will provide mentorship. Only one applicant and one collaborator per application are permitted. The program anticipates awarding up to 24 grants of $600,000 total cost each, or $200,000 per year for three years. Cost sharing is not required.
Research must constitute basic science and fall within one of 12 topic areas: Space Bioscience, 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, Fundamental Mechanisms and Materials for Shock Mitigation for Warfighter Protection, and Efficient Packaging and Deployment of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. All research must be performed in DEPSCoR-eligible states and meet Gold Standard Science requirements emphasizing reproducibility, transparency, and falsifiability.
Proposals are evaluated on technical merit, DoD relevance, investigator qualifications, facility adequacy, and cost realism. The primary institution must retain greater than 50 percent of total award funding. All covered individuals undergo fundamental research security reviews. Award notifications are expected July 23, 2027, with anticipated award start date October 2027. This opportunity is issued under Assistance Listing 12.431 (Basic Scientific Research).
Synopsis
The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) - Research Collaboration (RC) opportunity. The program is sponsored and managed by the Basic Research Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD [R & E]), awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and administered through the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The DoD plans to award FY26 DEPSCoR appropriations through this announcement.
DEPSCoR's objectives are to:
(1) increase the number of university researchers in eligible States/Territories capable of performing science and engineering (S & E research responsive to the needs of the DoD; and
(2) enhance the capabilities of institutions of higher education (IHE) in eligible States/Territories (listed below) to develop, plan, and execute (S & E) research that is relevant to the mission of the DoD, and competitive under the peer-review systems used for awarding Federal research assistance;
(3) increase the probability of long-term growth in the competitively awarded financial assistance that IHE in eligible States receive from the Federal Government for S & E research.
Consistent with these long term objectives of building research infrastructure, the DoD intends to competitively make, and fund from fiscal year 2026 appropriations, multiyear awards for S & E research in areas relevant to the DoD's mission and important to national security.
The Basic Research Office anticipates up to $14.4 million in total funding will be made available for this program to fully fund and award up to twenty four (24) grants up to $600,000 (total cost) each. Each grant award will be funded up to $200,000 (total cost) per year for three (3) years.
Awards are subject to funding availability. There is no guarantee of an award.
Eligibility
This funding opportunity aims to create basic research collaborations between a pair of researchers, namely 1) Applicant/Principal Investigator (PI), henceforth referred to as Applicant, a full-time faculty member who has never served as a PI on a prior DoD directly funded research Prime award and 2) Collaborator/co-Principal Investigator (co-PI), henceforth referred to as Collaborator, an investigator who will provide mentorship to the Applicant and has served as a PI on a DoD directly funded research Prime award actively between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2026. This structure is aimed at introducing potential applicants to the DoD's unique research challenges and its supportive research ecosystem. Tenured or tenure-track faculty members with appointments at IHE, in the following States/Territories are eligible to apply for DEPSCoR opportunities under this announcement: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming see eligibility table in III A.
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