Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research

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DEPSCoR: Defense Established Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research

Enhancing Basic Research Capacity & Competitiveness

As part of the FY24 defense appropriations bill, Congress tasked the Basic Research Office with managing the Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR). DEPSCoR is a capacity building program that is designed to strengthen the research infrastructure at institutions of higher education in underutilized States/Territories. In order to achieve its congressional mandate, the Basic Research Office developed three major thrusts for DEPSCoR – 1) solicit applications for a stand-alone research collaboration competition, 2) solicit applications for a capacity building competition, and 3) outreach meetings.

FY24 Eligibility
The authorization legislation for DEPSCoR included a formula to determine whether a state/territory, is eligible based on how much DoD Science & Engineering Research and Development funds were obligated to IHE within the state/territory over a three-year average. Thus, thirty-five states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are eligible to participate in FY24 DEPSCoR.
Thrust 1: RESEARCH COLLABORATION DEPSCoR Competition
The DEPSCoR competition intends to encourage collaborations on basic research projects of interest to the Department. The program is structured to form a 2-person team between 1) a researcher who has never served as a principal investigator (PI) on a prior DoD-funded award and 2) an investigator who will provide mentorship and has served as a PI on a DoD-funded research award actively between 1 October 2017 and 30 September 2024.

The FY24 DEPSCoR Research Collaboration competition seeks proposals addressing the following topic areas as detailed in the full announcement:

1. Natural Materials and Systems
2. Atomic and Molecular Physics
3. Mathematical Optimization
4. Ghz - Thz Electronics
5. Fluid Dynamics
6. Polymer Chemistry
7. Information Processing and Fusion
8. Physical Properties of Materials
9. Novel, Fast-Response, Infrared (IR) Detector Concepts Enabling Higher Temperature Operation
10. Vertical Cloud and Aerosol Profiling
11. Multifunctional Marine Antifouling Surfaces
12. Understanding Mind and Body Relationship Through Respiratory Control
13. Novel Attachment Methods for Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics

The solicitation notice for this DEPSCoR Research Collaboration competition, FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2024-0007, is posted on www.grants.gov.

White Paper and Supporting Documentation deadline submission is 24 June 2024.
Thrust 2: CAPACITY BUILDING DEPSCOR COMPETITION
The DEPSCoR Capacity Building competition objectives are to jumpstart capability development in the State/Territory through increased human, technical, and management resource and to achieve excellence in a DoD-relevant research area through funding to support equipment, education, research, and other relevant activities.

Grants awarded under this program are intended to support the strategic objectives of IHEs (either individually or in partnership with others) in DEPSCoR States/Territories to achieve basic research excellence in areas of high relevance to the DoD. Proposals will vary depending on technical field and geographic region.

The solicitation notice for this DEPSCoR Capacity Building competition, FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2023-0006, is posted on www.grants.gov.

White Paper and Supporting Documentation deadline submission is 24 June 2024.
Thrust 3: DEPSCoR Education and Outreach
To meet the directives outlined by Congress, the Basic Research Office is hosting several outreach events, including regional workshops and a virtual DEPSCoR Webinar on Wednesday, 16 April 2024. Please register to attend the webinar here: https://dod-basicresearch.nvision.noblis.org/program/depscor

DEPSCoR outreach activities will serve to raise awareness of the Basic Research enterprise and encourage increase participation in the Department of Defense’s initiatives to support national security functions. Tri-Service Program Officers (POs) and other DoD representatives will participate in the meetings. Therefore, these meetings will also facilitate dialogue between tri-Service POs and attendees

Topics covered:

1. Overview of the DoD Basic Research Enterprise

2. Implementation of Basic Research in the tri-Services (Army Research Office [ARO], Air Force Office of Scientific Research [AFOSR], and the Office of Naval Research [ONR])

3. Effective Engagement Strategies with tri-Service Program Officers

4. Basic Research (6.1) funding opportunities

The next scheduled outreach event will be hosted by the University of Oklahoma on 25 April 2024. Interested parties can register to attend here: https://epscor.ou.edu/

NEWS

Click here for the slide deck that accompanied the open DEPSCoR FOA presentation during the informational webinar held on 16 April 2024.

The funding opportunity announcements for the FY24 DEPSCoR Research Collaboration and FY24 DEPSCoR Capacity Building competitions are now posted on grants.gov.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to the winners of the FY23 DEPSCoR Competition! Click here to read the award announcement press release.