University Of Hawaii

University Of Hawaii, doing business as Office Of The President, is a public research university and state government entity that receives and administers federal research grants, workforce development grants, and service contracts as a prime recipient and sub-recipient across 38 customer agencies. The university operates as part of the University Of Hawaii Systems parent structure and is designated as a Native Hawaiian-serving institution. University Of Hawaii competes in full-and-open federal grant and contract processes with no set-aside restrictions; it does not compete under small business or disadvantaged-business categories.

University Of Hawaii's federal footprint centers on research grants and educational workforce development. The university acts as prime recipient on $22.5 million in cooperative agreements from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the Pacific Reef Research Coordination Institute (CFDA not specified, obligated October 1, 2026, completing September 30, 2031), a $5 million project grant from the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education for GEAR UP Hawaii 2025-2032 (CFDA 84.334, obligated October 1, 2025), a $32.7 million Economic Adjustment Assistance grant from the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (CFDA 11.307, running through September 2026) supporting workforce training in healthcare, information technology, energy and resilience, and film and media across the islands, and a $2.85 million project grant from the Office of Naval Research under the Basic and Applied Scientific Research program (CFDA 12.300) for RISE-UP 3.0 advanced manufacturing innovation (obligated September 1, 2025, completing February 28, 2027). The university also holds a $1.22 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.657) to conduct native plant seed collection supporting habitat restoration on Army installations in Oahu (obligated February 28, 2025, completing May 19, 2029). On the contract side, University Of Hawaii received a $724,494 purchase order from the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Integrated Service Network 21 for curriculum development, policy analysis, and community engagement services addressing barriers for the VA Pacific Island Health Care System (obligated September 1, 2026, completing August 30, 2027), and a $49,500 sole-source purchase order from the U.S. Geological Survey for membership in the Hawai'i Conservation Alliance (obligated December 20, 2024, completing December 31, 2029).

Customer concentration splits between education-focused and defense-oriented agencies. The top five customer agencies by award count (covering 49% of recent awards) are the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (14 awards), the Corporation for National and Community Service Office of Grants Management (14 awards, primarily AmeriCorps formula and project grants), the Office of Naval Research (9 awards spanning research and innovation initiatives), the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (4 awards), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (4 awards). By potential dollar value, concentration is heavily weighted to the Department of the Navy, which anchors $147.1 million in combined potential value across 2 awards — principally the PACRRCI cooperative agreement. A narrow recompete window exists: 13 awards with combined potential value of $724 thousand complete in the next twenty-four months.

University Of Hawaii functions as a sub-recipient on 21 awards (23% of the recent portfolio). Notable sub-award work includes participation in the Hawaii P-20 birth-to-K early childhood literacy program under the Hawaii State Department of Education's Comprehensive State Literacy Development Grant, medical research data analysis under The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (involving bone mineral density and body composition analysis), a remote patient monitoring initiative for Native Hawaiians sub-awarded from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and a railroading careers and workforce development sub-award from the University of South Florida. The university's subsidiary structure includes UH Ventures LLC, a for-profit limited liability company, which does not carry activity in the visible award footprint.

Activity has grown and stabilized over the five-year window — 16 awards in 2022 through 18 in 2025, with 5 awards year-to-date in 2026. Recent grants emphasize Native Hawaiian health equity, coastal and environmental conservation, advanced manufacturing and innovation partnerships, and K-12 and postsecondary education access and attainment, with particular focus on underserved and rural communities across the Pacific Basin. The university's capability portfolio reflects its position as a comprehensive research institution with sea-grant, land-grant, and space-grant designations: marine science, coastal resilience, native ecosystem restoration, indigenous health and innovation, workforce development, disaster risk reduction, and applied research in support of naval operations and Marine Corps capability development.