University Of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota's Division of Research & Economic Development, doing business as U N D, is a major public research institution headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota, that serves as a prime recipient and prime contractor for federal research, education, and development programs across 189 federal agencies and funding sources, with no small business set-asides. The institution competes on a full-and-open basis across federal contract and grant programs spanning STEM education, aerospace research, energy development, healthcare innovation, and environmental science.

UND operates as a comprehensive research university with an established footprint across both research and educational federal funding streams. As a prime contractor and grant recipient, the institution delivers research and development in biomedical sciences, advanced materials and manufacturing, clean energy and carbon management, quantum computing and AI, environmental restoration, and STEM workforce development. Representative contract work includes a $148.75 million Other Transaction Agreement with the U.S. Army's TACOM Life Cycle Management Command for hydrogen fuel cell system design and testing; a $3.5 million firm fixed-price contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for extreme cold weather research cyberinfrastructure; and a $19.95 million Other Transaction Agreement with the National Institutes of Health for a decentralized diabetes data platform for senior health management. Grant work includes a $21.45 million cooperative agreement from the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy for carbon capture test center capital improvement, a $3.41 million cooperative agreement with NASA for the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium STEM engagement program, and a $1.999 billion National Science Foundation Research Traineeship award for sustainable water and land resource management workforce development.

Customer concentration centers on federal research and education funding agencies. The top five funding sources by award count account for 29% of all awards: NASA's Shared Services Center (107 awards, $32.6 million), the National Science Foundation (95 awards), the Health Resources and Services Administration (74 awards), the Department of Energy (57 awards), and the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy (56 awards, $3.9 million). Dollar concentration is more dispersed—the same five agencies account for only 13% of combined potential value—reflecting the high volume of modest-dollar research and educational grants relative to the institution's fewer large-dollar development contracts. UND holds a position on the Navy's Indefinite Delivery Contract N0014098G2501 (47 task orders, $1.1 million combined potential value) and seats on smaller IDCs supporting aerospace and systems engineering research.

Activity has remained stable at 81–90 awards annually over the past three years, with 32 awards captured in 2026 year-to-date. The recompete cliff shows 80 awards with ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months carrying combined potential value of $7.5 million. As a research university, UND's award portfolio reflects the characteristics of academic institutions: high volume, lower-dollar research grants and contracts, substantial subcontractor engagement (48% of hours on SCI-reportable prime contracts performed by subs), and documented sub-awards to state and local entities, other universities, and research organizations. SCI-reported invoicing on service contracts above the $150,000 threshold totaled $2.4 million across FY2022–FY2024, reflecting a narrow slice of the institution's federal services revenue; this metric excludes research grants, goods contracts, and the vast majority of UND's educational and research funding streams. On SCI-reportable service contracts, median government-paid rates averaged $143/hr, with senior consulting rates reaching $1,941/hr.

UND operates predominantly as a prime recipient and prime contractor (89% of recent awards), with 11% of awards as a sub-recipient or subcontractor to other institutions and contractors including Leidos, MITRE, Barron Associates, and Analytical Mechanics Associates. The university's parent organization, the North Dakota University System, also holds federal vehicles including a $147.05 million multiple-award IDV with the U.S. Navy for Naval Community College Partnerships and the handheld optical inspection system OTA with the Army. UND's capability footprint spans research infrastructure development, STEM education and workforce preparation (particularly targeting rural and Native American student populations), energy technology development, infectious disease and public health research, and environmental science and management—all delivered through university facilities in Grand Forks with support from the university's established divisions and centers including the Energy & Environmental Research Center, the Center for Rural Health, and the Research Institute for Autonomous Systems.