Regents Of The University Of Minnesota

Regents Of The University Of Minnesota, doing business as University Of Minnesota, Duluth, operates as a 1862 Land Grant institution and a U.S. Government entity delivering federal research funding as a prime grant recipient and, in limited instances, as a procurement contractor and subcontractor to prime research institutions. The university receives the vast majority of its federal awards (94% of 323 total awards in the source window) as a prime recipient across federal grant programs rather than as a contract prime.

The university's federal footprint is dominated by National Science Foundation funding. The National Science Foundation accounts for 124 prime research awards, with the Division of Ocean Sciences anchoring 19 dedicated awards for oceanographic research and vessel operations. The university operates and maintains the R/V Blue Heron, an 86-foot coastal research vessel on the Great Lakes, and holds multi-year cooperative agreements with NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences for ship operations (through 2028) and technical services. Representative NSF grants span biogeochemical research (a $452,705 grant on salt effects on dissolved organic matter photodegradation; CFDA 47.050), paleolimnology and ecosystem analysis (a $656,775 Major Research Instrumentation award for an isotope-ratio mass spectrometer system at the Large Lakes Observatory; CFDA 47.050), and exploratory research on natural hydrogen generation (a $215,758 EAGER award under the Clean Energy Technology Initiative; CFDA 47.041). Additional NSF grants support chemistry and physics research—including a $346,854 award on hypervalent porphyrin photosensitizers (CFDA 47.049) and NSF physics participation in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE)—and workforce development including a $749,994 six-year scholarship program for low-income computer science students (CFDA 47.076).

Beyond NSF, the National Institutes of Health Office of the Director awarded a $1.37 million cooperative agreement (CFDA 93.859) in March 2026 to establish a cross-institutional biomedical research environment and mentorship collaboration between University of Minnesota Duluth and Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College, with funding for grant administration, faculty professional development, course-based undergraduate research experiences, and pilot grant programs. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism funded a $381,149 project grant (CFDA 93.273) on ecological momentary assessment of alcohol consumption patterns among American Indian women of childbearing age. The Department of Energy Office of Science supported a $131,265 grant on vadose zone carbon and nutrient cycling in shallow aquifer systems (CFDA 81.049).

The university holds two federal contract vehicles with limited scope: a single-award indefinite-delivery contract with the Veterans Integrated Service Network 6 (ceiling $275,000 through September 2030) for drug and placebo procurement; and a single-award Basic Ordering Agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BOA value $0.00 with February 2035 expiration) for scientific research, technical services, and academic expertise. A recent small delivery order from Veterans Integrated Service Network 6 on September 30, 2026 awarded $12,406 for drug and placebo procurement with performance completion by September 29, 2027 in Richmond, Virginia.

Customer concentration by award count sits with the National Science Foundation (124 awards) and the Department of the Navy (14 awards), with the Department of the Air Force Air Education and Training Command representing the largest concentration by potential dollar value (13 awards, $864 thousand combined potential value). The Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Force, and NASA Shared Services Center anchor secondary customer relationships. The top five parent vehicles derive primarily from Air Force training and education task orders (24 task orders on Indefinite Delivery Contract F0160079D0287 with $924 thousand combined potential value) and Navy research vehicles.

In its subcontractor role, the university participates in multi-institutional collaborative research networks. The source identifies sub-award activity under 20 federal grants, including participation in cardiovascular regeneration research led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, autonomous robotics projects under University of Connecticut prime awards, knee injury surgical timing studies under University of Pittsburgh, ice core research under Oregon State University, and bird survey work under the University of Wisconsin System—work roles that span laboratory science, data collection, and bioinformatics support.

The Service Contract Inventory reports minimal SCI activity: only three sub-records spanning FY2024–FY2025 with 0.1 FTEs in each fiscal year. SCI is a strict subset of federal services and excludes grant work, which constitutes the bulk of the university's federal activity. The $88.8 million in combined obligated dollars against a $2 million combined potential value across all 323 awards reflects the university's grant portfolio: grants mature with full payment of obligations once awarded and performance completes, whereas contract potential values remain open until task orders mature or vehicle ceilings are reached.

Activity has remained steady over the past five years, ranging from 9 to 18 awards annually, with 9 awards recorded in 2026 (partial year). Thirteen awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, carrying only $12 thousand in combined potential value—a modest recompete window. The university's federal research footprint is concentrated in ocean sciences, earth sciences, biological sciences, chemistry, physics, and STEM education, with place of performance occurring at the Duluth, Minnesota campus and on the R/V Blue Heron homeported on the Great Lakes.