University Of New Mexico

University of New Mexico's Office of Sponsored Projects Division, a state-controlled public research university and Hispanic-Serving Institution headquartered in Albuquerque, operates as a prime recipient and prime contractor across federal agencies, competing predominantly in full-and-open solicitations without set-aside designations. The institution holds no formal SBA certifications but leverages its designation as a minority-serving institution across its federal footprint.

UNM's federal award portfolio spans 3,425 total awards (prime and sub combined) valued at $648.7 million in combined potential value, with $2.09 billion in obligated dollars across research, education, and support services. The institution competes across 213 distinct customer agencies, with recent activity running 46–178 awards annually. The top customer concentration is modest: the National Science Foundation leads by award count (649 awards), while the Defense Threat Reduction Agency anchors the largest dollar share (52 awards, $147.7 million combined potential value). The Air Force Research Laboratory ranks second by dollars (72 awards, $43.9 million), followed by NASA's Shared Services Center (161 awards, $28.3 million). Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services NIH, and Department of the Navy round out the active customer set. No single agency concentration dominates; the top five customers account for 37% of combined potential value, a diffuse distribution typical of large research universities.

UNM holds positions on several indefinite delivery vehicles. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency Indefinite Delivery Contract DTRA0103D0009 carries 28 task orders worth $86.1 million combined potential value—the largest single parent vehicle in the portfolio. Ancillary IDCs include F0560400D8005 (Air Force, 21 task orders), GSA Basic Ordering Agreement GS07B15028 (90 task orders, $11.1 million), and NAC000002 (19 task orders, $182 thousand). The institution also holds a single-award $15 million Indefinite Delivery Contract with the Bureau of Indian Education for adjunct instructor services to the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, with delivery orders ranging from $592 thousand to $779 thousand and running through April 2029.

Research capabilities span fundamental science across physics, materials science, quantum information systems, geosciences, biological sciences, and engineering. Named representative work includes a $14.97 million Air Force Research Laboratory cost-no-fee definitive contract for the ADASTRA (Advanced Design and Analysis of Space Technologies and Radiation Assurance) program (completion August 2030); a $10.74 million EPA Technical Assistance for Treatment Works grant for training and technical assistance to rural, small, and tribal water systems nationwide; a $7.7 million EPA Safe Drinking Water Act training program covering all 50 states and tribal entities; a $6 million National Nuclear Security Administration Cooperative Agreement for the Center for Optimized Modern Parallel Adaptive System Software (COMPASS) to optimize high-performance computing architectures; and a $3.7 million NSF E-RISE grant for forest research addressing New Mexico water and carbon management. Grant work emphasizes NSF CAREER awards (Faculty Early Career Development Program), NSF Research Traineeship programs, and NIH project grants in biomedical sciences, with particular strength in climate science, water resource management, and STEM education at the K-12 and undergraduate levels.

Federal service contracts captured in the Service Contract Inventory show $4 million in SCI-reportable invoiced revenue across FY2022–FY2024 (16 prime records), with workforce scale running 29.3 FTEs in FY2022, declining to 13.8 FTEs by FY2024. Government-paid hourly rates on SCI records median around $26.92/hr, ranging from $0/hr (10th percentile) to $58.55/hr (90th percentile), reflecting the institution's positioning across adjunct faculty, administrative support, and specialized research roles. The sub-hours share across prime SCI contracts averages 0%, indicating UNM builds its own delivery teams on federal service contracts rather than outsourcing labor.

As a prime, UNM maintains subcontractors on research and development work. Named sub-award relationships include Triad National Security, LLC (Los Alamos National Laboratory management and operations), Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (National Security Campus work), and University of Southern California (quantum benchmarking). The sub-award footprint is small relative to the prime portfolio (6% of total awards), reflecting UNM's role as a primary research performer rather than a systems integrator. On federal grants, UNM acts as prime recipient across NSF, NIH, Department of Energy, EPA, and specialized agencies; sub-recipient roles are secondary, with the institution serving as sub on a small subset of collaborative research projects led by peer research universities (e.g., University of Pittsburgh on surgical timing studies, Michigan Technological University on fuel moisture research).

Recompete exposure in the next 24 months stands at 160 awards valued at $10.1 million combined potential value—modest relative to the institutional portfolio—suggesting stable funding continuity on major vehicles. The institution's activity trajectory has remained steady, averaging 140–180 awards per year over the past five years, with no cliff-driven volatility. Category concentration reflects UNM's identity: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (146 awards), Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings for campus operations (115 awards), Engineering Services (43 awards), and Educational Support Services (34 awards) dominate the NAICS profile. Research and development in space science/applications and special studies in archaeology and paleontology are the top PSC categories, consistent with the institution's land-grant research mission and partnerships with national laboratories.