Stewardship Science Grant Program

(1) To grow the U.S. scientific community through university involvement in areas of fundamental science and technology relevant to stockpile stewardship; (2) to promote and sustain scientific interactions between the academic community and scientist

The Nation's nuclear weapons stockpile is a vital part of our national security infrastructure. Ensuring that this deterrent is second to none requires the best science and technology. Having top tier scientists and engineers in the areas critical to stockpile stewardship is the only way to ensure the best science and technology. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) supports this effort through the Office of Defense Programs.

Some solicitations are open to institutions of higher education only and others include nonprofit organizations and for profit commercial organizations. See individual funding opportunity announcements for details on eligibility.

Depending upon the eligibility requirements of the individual solicitation, U.S. public and private institutions of higher education and/or nonprofit organizations and for profit commercial organizations will benefit. The Federal government will also benefit from the research of these grants.

Financial support in whole or in part may be provided for such purposes as the salaries, materials and supplies, equipment, travel, publication costs, training costs, and services required for conducting research, training, related activities, and advanced technology projects or assessments. Funding is provided for basic and applied research in the field of physical science in support of the DOE stockpile stewardship program. Restrictions on use of funds depend on grant provisions. Funding is provided for the purpose of exploring an idea that does not unnecessarily duplicate work already in progress or contemplated by DOE, is not already known to DOE, or has previously unrecognized merit.

Generally, grants are approved for two-year or three-year project periods and funded one year at a time. Depending upon specific circumstances, grant project periods may range from one year to five years, at the discretion of the program office. Cooperative Agreements typically have five-year project periods and are funded one year at a time.

(1) Alignment with the areas of technical scope; (2) Scientific/technical merit of the project, including innovativeness and originality; (3) Expected impact on the area of technical scope addressed; (4) Consistency with the objective of this academic alliances program to focus on advanced experimental investigations; (5) Qualifications of the Applicant's personnel and adequacy of proposed resources; (6) Feasibility of plans for carrying out the proposed research, considering such factors as: appropriateness of the technical method and approach, facility compatibility, other commitments, competition and timing; (7) For projects currently receiving funding under this program, the scientific impact of recent results and accomplishments; (8) Level of interaction with NNSA/DP laboratory personnel and the potential to train students in scientific areas defined by the technical scope in order to build a long-term recruiting pool for the NNSA/DP laboratory complex. Generally, a higher degree of interaction both quantitatively and qualitatively is considered desirable; (9) Leverage provided by cost sharing with other funding sources.

Applications will receive an administrative screening to determine if they are complete and in compliance with the terms of the solicitation. Proposals will be screened for stewardship relevance and then reviewed for scientific and technical merit by qualified individuals. The review and selection process for each funding opportunity are included in the solicitation. Decisions to approve are made by a Headquarters program official within the Program Office. Selected proposals will be forwarded to the NNSA's Office of Partnership and Acquisition Services for grant development, negotiation, and award.

Approximately 90 to 180 days.

Proposals for renewal should be submitted to the next open funding opportunity announcement.