FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) – RESEARCH COLLABORATION (RC)
Multiyear DoD-relevant basic science and engineering research collaboration grants up to $600,000 total for tenured or tenure-track faculty at eligible DEPSCoR states/territories, with a required DoD-experienced co-PI mentor.
⚑ Eligible applicant must be a tenured or tenure-track faculty member at an IHE in a listed DEPSCoR state/territory. · Applicant must never have served as PI on a prior DoD directly funded research Prime award. · Application requires a collaborator/co-PI who has served as PI on a DoD directly funded research Prime award active between 2018-10-01 and 2026-09-30. · Research must be S&E basic research relevant to DoD mission; up to $200,000 total cost per year for 3 years; no guarantee of award.
This is a basic research DEPSCoR solicitation aimed at science/engineering capacity building around DoD mission needs, with emphasis on materials/manufacturing and AI/data science. IPPRA’s strength is social-behavioral research on security attitudes, risk perception, weather, energy, and education policy, so this is not a plausible PI-level fit for the team beyond very indirect interest in national security.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-08-11
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 90 strong | technical depth: central; funds basic research |
| IPPRA | 58 good | portfolio topic: national_security_defense (primary); social/behavioral work is minor; funds basic research |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 15 none | deep-tech content; no commercialization signal |
Description
The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) – Research Collaboration (RC) opportunity. The program is sponsored and managed by the Basic Research Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD [R&E]), awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and administered through the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The DoD plans to award FY26 DEPSCoR appropriations through this announcement.
DEPSCoR's objectives are to:
(1) increase the number of university researchers in eligible States/Territories capable of performing science and engineering (S&E research responsive to the needs of the DoD; and
(2) enhance the capabilities of institutions of higher education (IHE) in eligible States/Territories (listed below) to develop, plan, and execute (S&E) research that is relevant to the mission of the DoD, and competitive under the peer-review systems used for awarding Federal research assistance;
(3) increase the probability of long-term growth in the competitively awarded financial assistance that IHE in eligible States receive from the Federal Government for S&E research.
Consistent with these long term objectives of building research infrastructure, the DoD intends to competitively make, and fund from fiscal year 2026 appropriations, multiyear awards for S&E research in areas relevant to the DoD’s mission and important to national security.
The Basic Research Office anticipates up to $14.4 million in total funding will be made available for this program to fully fund and award up to twenty four (24) grants up to $600,000 (total cost) each. Each grant award will be funded up to $200,000 (total cost) per year for three (3) years.
Awards are subject to funding availability. There is no guarantee of an award.
Eligibility
This funding opportunity aims to create basic research collaborations between a pair of researchers, namely 1) Applicant/Principal Investigator (PI), henceforth referred to as Applicant, a full-time faculty member who has never served as a PI on a prior DoD directly funded research Prime award and 2) Collaborator/co-Principal Investigator (co-PI), henceforth referred to as Collaborator, an investigator who will provide mentorship to the Applicant and has served as a PI on a DoD directly funded research Prime award actively between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2026. This structure is aimed at introducing potential applicants to the DoD’s unique research challenges and its supportive research ecosystem. Tenured or tenure-track faculty members with appointments at IHE, in the following States/Territories are eligible to apply for DEPSCoR opportunities under this announcement: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming see eligibility table in III A.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Denise M Johnson Grantor <denise.johnson.19@us.af.mil & nicole.thomas.20@us.af.mil>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Department of Defense (BAA-style) conventions SEE A DOD EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Department of Defense (BAA-style)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.