University Of West Florida

University Of West Florida, operating through its Research Administration & Engagement Division and doing business as University Of West Florida Board Of Trustees, is a state-controlled public institution of higher education based in Pensacola, Florida, that serves the federal government primarily as a prime recipient of research and educational grants (97% of awards) and as a provider of tuition, educational services, and specialized training to military and civilian agencies on a full and open, non-set-aside basis.

UWF holds a diverse federal portfolio spanning research, education, workforce development, and small business support. The institution functions as the prime recipient on federal grants and cooperative agreements across the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, the Small Business Administration, and civilian agencies including the Department of Commerce and the National Endowment for the Humanities. As a contract prime, UWF primarily delivers tuition and fees support to Navy personnel through the Department of the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (66 awards, $1.7 million combined potential value), Naval Education and Training Command (16 awards, $1.3 million), and the Air Force Air Education and Training Command (17 awards, $276 thousand). The institution also holds a significant Missile Defense Agency Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract — the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) vehicle with a $151 billion ceiling and performance through December 2035, though only an initial $500 delivery order has been placed as of January 2026.

Recent grant work demonstrates UWF's research and education focus. The National Science Foundation awarded $1.742 million on August 1, 2026, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to establish the CyberAI Scholarship for Service program, educating 16 scholars in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence and preparing them for federal service. NSF also funded a $2 million Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics award (CFDA 47.076) for STEM student scholarships and support services, and a $575,142 collaborative research grant comparing virtual-reality AI simulations and peer teaching in preservice STEM teacher preparation. The Office of Naval Research awarded $1.5 million under the Basic and Applied Scientific Research program (CFDA 12.300) for the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative project on adaptive taxonomic modeling in judgment and decision making. The Department of Defense Office of the Secretary funded $2.286 million under the Procurement Technical Assistance For Business Firms program (CFDA 12.002) to establish and maintain an APEX Accelerator serving small businesses seeking federal procurement assistance. On the education and training contract side, UWF delivers tuition support to Navy personnel through multiple Basic Ordering Agreements and Indefinite Delivery Vehicles (39 task orders under Navy IDV N0018910GZ001, 15 task orders under Basic Ordering Agreement N0018921GZ007, 20 task orders under Air Force IDV F0160097D0015). The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency awarded two purchase orders for cybersecurity skills development program support services — $1.487 million (ending September 28, 2024) and $1.286 million (ending September 29, 2025) — to provide technical expertise, curriculum development, and training delivery.

Customer concentration reflects UWF's military and federal research alignment. The top five customer agencies (Department of the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Naval Education and Training Command, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Air Force Air Education and Training Command, and the National Park Service) account for 43% of awards by count. The Navy dominates the contract portfolio across multiple commands and regional offices, while the National Science Foundation and Office of the Secretary of Defense anchor the grant footprint. UWF has served 62 distinct federal agencies in recent years.

Activity has remained relatively stable, with 12 to 19 awards per year from 2022 through 2026 and a combined federal award potential of $16.6 million across all sources (though obligated dollars of $506.5 million reflect prior-year carryover and multi-year award execution). Thirteen awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and will require recompete. The award portfolio is heavily weighted toward education and training service categories — 103 awards coded to Education/Training tuition and fees, 35 to curriculum development and training, and 17 to space research and development services. The top NAICS categories are Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (68 awards) and Administration of Education Programs (42 awards).

UWF operates as a prime on 379 awards (97% of the portfolio) and as a sub-recipient or subcontractor on 12 awards (3%). Across federal service contracts captured in the Service Contract Inventory, UWF reported $3 million in invoiced revenue in FY2024 and FY2025 combined on two prime records (approximately 2.0 FTEs in FY2025), with median government-paid hourly rates around $464/hr. The SCI dataset shows minimal subcontractor engagement, indicating UWF builds delivery internally rather than through extensive sub-networks. Recent sub-award work includes research collaboration as a sub-recipient on a Florida International University–led cyber-physical systems anomaly detection project (DARPA-related), machine learning research support under New Mexico State University, and environmental research activities under the University of Nebraska and other academic prime recipients. UWF also receives pass-through sub-awards from state-level intermediaries such as the Florida Division of Emergency Management for disaster recovery activities and the Florida Department of Education for special education capacity building.

UWF's federal footprint reflects its mission as a public research and comprehensive university serving regional and national workforce development, military education, and applied research needs. The institution competes on a full and open basis across tuition delivery to military training commands, research grants from civilian science and technology agencies, and small business support programming through the SBA and DoD, with no set-aside designations across the visible awards.